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Var det en dröm, att ljuvt en gång jag var ditt hjärtas vän? Jag minns det som en tystnad sång, då strängen darrar än. Jag minns en törnros av dig skänkt, en blick så blyg och öm; jag minns en avskedstår, som blänkt. Var allt, var allt en dröm? En dröm lik sippans liv så kort uti en vårgrön ängd, vars fägring hastigt vissnar bort för nya blommors mängd. Men mången natt jag hör en röst vid bittra tårars ström: göm djupt dess minne i ditt bröst, det var din bästa dröm!
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Laura Valborg Aulin (1860 - 1928), "Var det en dröm?", op. 19 no. 2 [ voice and piano ], from Två sånger för en röst och piano, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Var det en dröm?", op. 37 no. 4 (1902), published 1906 [ voice and piano ], from Fem sånger, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David McCleery) , "Was it a dream?", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Oliko se unta?", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Était-ce un rêve ?", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "War es ein Traum ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Beate Binnig) , "War es ein Traum?", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "それは夢だったのか?", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 92
Was it a dream, that once upon a blissful time I was your heart’s friend? I remember it like a silent song Whose melody still lingers on. I remember you gave me a rose With a look so shy and tender, I remember the glistening of a parting tear. Was it all just a dream? A dream like a wildflower's life, So brief in the verdant meadow, Whose beauty quickly withers away Within an ocean of new flowers But on many a night I hear a voice Through a stream of bitter tears. Hide this memory deep in your heart For this was your best dream.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by David McCleery, (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 Swedish (Svenska) by Josef Julius Wecksell (1838 - 1907)
This text was added to the website: 2018-01-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 106