Black roses | Tell me, why are you so sad today

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by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906)

Translation © by Anna Hersey

Svarta rosor

Language: Swedish (Svenska)

Our translations: ENG FIN FRE JPN

Säg hvarför är du så ledsen i dag,
Du, som alltid är så lustig och glad?
Och inte är jag mera ledsen i dag
Än när jag tyckes dig lustig och glad;
Ty sorgen har nattsvarta rosor.

I mitt hjerta der växer ett rosendeträd
Som aldrig nånsin vill lemna mig fred.
Och på stjelkarne sitter [tagg]¹ vid tagg,
Och det vållar mig ständigt sveda och agg;
Ty sorgen har nattsvarta rosor.

Men af rosor blir det en hel klenod,
Än hvita som döden, än röda som blod.
Det växer och växer. Jag tror jag förgår,
I hjertträdets rötter det rycker och slår;
Ty sorgen har nattsvarta rosor.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Sibelius

View text without footnotes
Note: "hjerta der" is spelled "hjärta där" in some editions.

¹ Sibelius: "det tagg"

Text Authorship:

by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Svarta rosor", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula [author's text checked 1 time 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 Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Svarta rosor", op. 36 (Kuusi yksinlaulua pianon säestyksellä = 6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 1 (1899), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934) ; composed by Frederick Delius.
- Go to the text.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Alfred Julius Boruttau (1877 - 1940) and by Ferdinand Tilgmann (1832 - 1911) ; composed by Jean Sibelius.
- Go to the text.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jelka Rosen (Delius) (1868 - 1935) ; composed by Frederick Delius.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 108

Black roses

Language: English after the Swedish (Svenska)

Tell me, why are you so sad today,
You, who are always so cheerful and happy?
And I am no more sad today
As when I appear to you cheerful and happy;
For grief has roses black as night.

In my heart a rose tree grows
That will never leave me in peace.
And on its branches sit thorn upon thorn,
And it causes me constant pain and bitterness;
For grief has roses black as night.

But from roses come a whole treasure,
White as death, red as blood.
It grows and grows. I believe I will perish,
My heart-tree’s roots wrench and beat;
For grief has roses black as night.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2016 by Anna Hersey, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.
Anna Hersey. Contact: hersey (DOT) anna (AT) gmail (DOT) com

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Based on:

a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Svarta rosor", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-06-27
Line count: 15
Word count: 111