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Tu pupila es azul, y cuando ríes, Su claridad süave me recuerda El trémulo fulgor de la mañana Que en el mar se refleja. Tu pupila es azul, y cuando lloras, Las [trasparentes]1 lágrimas en ella Se me figuran gotas de rocío Sobre una violeta. Tu pupila es azul, y si en su fondo, Como un punto de luz radia una idea, Me parece en el cielo de la tarde ¡Una perdida estrella!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Obras de Gustavo A. Bécquer, tomo segundo, Rimas, Madrid: Imprenta de T. Fortanet, 1871, page 264.
Note: inspired by Byron's I saw thee weep; sometimes given the title "Imitación de Byron"
1 J. Turina: "transparentes" Notes: Spelling variants in first publicationThe spelling variant "ries" in line 1 has been changed to "ríes".
The spelling variant "süave" in line 2 has been preserved to indicate the poetic diaeresis pronunciation.
The spelling variant "rádia" in line 12 has been changed to "radia".
Text Authorship:
- by Adolfo Bécquer (1836 - 1870), no title, appears in Rimas, no. 13, Madrid, Imprenta de T. Fortanet, first published 1871 [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 Joaquín Turina (1882 - 1949), "Tu pupila es azul", op. 81 no. 2 (1933), published 1935 [ soprano and piano ], from Tres poemas, no. 2, Madrid : UME [sung text checked 2 times]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Claycomb) , "Your eye is blue", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Tes yeux sont bleus", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Dein Augenstern ist blau", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , John Versmoren , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 75
Dein Augenstern ist blau, und wenn du lachst, kommt mir bei seinem Strahlen, sanft und klar, das schimmernd’ Licht des Morgens in den Sinn, welches im Meer sich spiegelt. Dein Augenstern ist blau, und wenn du weinst, erscheinen mir die Tränen, still und klar in ihm, wie Tropfen morgendlichen Taus, welche auf Veilchen perlen. Dein Augenstern ist blau, und wenn ganz tief in ihm dein Sinnen wie ein Lichtpunkt strahlt, so scheint es mir wie ein verlorner Stern am abendlichen Himmel!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2020 by Bertram Kottmann, (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.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Adolfo Bécquer (1836 - 1870), no title, appears in Rimas, no. 13, Madrid, Imprenta de T. Fortanet, first published 1871
This text was added to the website: 2020-05-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 81