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O say! what is that thing call'd light, Which I must ne'er enjoy? What are the blessings of the sight? O tell your poor blind boy! You talk of wond'rous things you see, You say the sun shines bright; I feel him warm, but how can he Or make it day or night. My day or night myself I make, Whene'er I sleep or play; And could I ever keep awake, With me 'twere always day. With heavy sighs I often hear You mourn my hapless woe; But sure with patience I can bear A loss I ne'er can know. Then let not what I cannot have My cheer of mind destroy; Whilst thus I sing, I am a king, Although a poor blind boy.
Confirmed with Specimens of the British Poets; with biographical and critical notices, and an essay on English poetry. By Thomas Campbell. In seven volumes. Vol. V. Sewell, 1726, to Carey, 1763. London: John Murray, Albemarle-Street. 1819, page 324; and with A Select Collection of English Songs. In three volumes. Volume the second. London: Printed for J. Johnson in St. Pauls Church-yard. MDCCLXXXIII. [1783], pages 104-105.
Text Authorship:
- by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy" [author's text checked 2 times 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 William Martin Yeates Hurlstone (1876 - 1906), "The blind boy", 1906, published 1907, first performed 1906 [ voice and piano ], London, Novello: Avison Edition [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta (1797 - 1855) , "Der blinde Knabe" ; composed by Franz Peter Schubert.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El noi cec", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 125
Oh, vinga, dieu-me estimats, què és aquesta cosa que anomeneu llum? Quines són totes les joies de veure-hi que jo mai he conegut? El sol que vosaltres veieu tan brillant, per a mi, pobre noi, no llueix mai; dieu que surt i després es pon, però jo no sé quan ni com. El dia i la nit me'ls faig jo mateix, mentre dormo i jugo, la meva vida interior em somriu esplèndida, d'alegries en tinc moltes. Sens dubte, no conec el que a vosaltres us fa goig, però cap culpa m'oprimeix, per això estic joiós en la meva sofrença i amb paciència la suporto. Sóc tan feliç, tan afortunat amb el que Déu m'ha donat, estic content com un rei, tot i que només sóc un pobre noi cec.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2017 by Salvador Pila, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy"
This text was added to the website: 2017-12-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 129