Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
I love the cradle-songs the mothers sing In lonely places when the twilight drops, The slow, endearing melodies that bring Sleep to the weeping lids; and, when she stops, I love the roadside birds upon the tops Of dusty hedges in a world of Spring. And when the sunny rain drips from the edge Of mid-day wind, and meadows lean one way, And a long whisper passes thro' the sedge, Beside the broken water let me stay, While these old airs upon my memory play, And silent changes colour up the hedge.
Text Authorship:
- by Francis Ledwidge (1891 - 1917) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "Desire in Spring" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Desire in Spring", subtitle: "Twilight Song", 1918-1919, published 1920, in The Chapbook [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Desire in Spring", op. 576 (1960) [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) (Maria M. Schnepp) , "Frühlingssehnsucht", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Deseo en primavera", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 92
Ich liebe die Wiegenlieder, die die Mütter singen
An einsamen Orten, wenn die Dämmerung sich senkt,
Die langsamen, lieblichen Melodien,
Die Schlaf über die tränenden Lidern bringen; und wenn sie endet,
Liebe ich die Vögel am Wegesrand auf den Spitzen
Der staubigen Hecken in einer Frühlingswelt.
Und wenn der sonnige Regen tröpfelt vom Rande
Eines Mittagswinds, und Auen sich in eine Richtung neigen,
Und ein langes Flüstern durch das Ried streicht,
Lass mich am gekräuselten Wasser verweilen,
Während diese alten Weisen in meiner Erinnerung spielen,
Und stille Verwandlungen die Hecke färben.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 by Sharon Krebs and Maria M. Schnepp, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Maria M. Schnepp. We have no current contact information for the copyright-holder.
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Francis Ledwidge (1891 - 1917)
This text was added to the website: 2014-12-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 91