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Dear Harp of my Country! in darkness I found thee, The cold chain of silence had hung o'er thee long; When proudly, my own Island Harp, I unbound thee And gave all thy chords to light, freedom and song! The warm lay of love and the light [note]1 of gladness Have waken'd thy fondest, thy liveliest thrill; But so oft hast thou echo'd the deep sigh of sadness, That e'en in thy mirth it will steal from thee still. Dear Harp of my Country! farewell to thy numbers This sweet wreath of song is the last we shall twine! Go, sleep with the sunshine of Fame on thy slumbers, Till touch'd by some hand less unworthy than mine; If the pulse of the patriot, soldier, or lover, Have throbb'd at our lay 'tis thy glory alone; I was but as the wind, passing heedlessly over, And all the wild sweetness I waked was thy own!
Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
1 Britten : "tone"Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Dear Harp of my Country", appears in Irish Melodies [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Dear Harp of my Country!" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Estimada arpa del meu país! ", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Chère Harpe de mon Pays", copyright © 2014, (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: 16
Word count: 156
Estimada arpa del meu país! En la foscúria et vaig trobar, la freda cadena del silenci havia penjat molt de temps al teu damunt; quan cofoi, arpa del meu propi país, et vaig deslligar i vaig donar a totes les teves cordes llum, llibertat i cant! La càlida cançó d’amor i els lleugers acords de joia han desvetllat les teves més afectuoses, més vives emocions; però molt sovint t’has fet l’eco de profunds sospirs de tristor, que àdhuc en la teva alegria encara s’escapen de tu. Estimada arpa del meu país! Adéu a les teves trobes, aquesta dolça garlanda de cançons és la darrera que trenarem! Vés, dorm amb la joia de la Fama en el teu son, fins que unes mans menys indignes que les meves et toquin; si el toc del patriota, del soldat o de l’amant les ha fet estremir sentint la teva cançó, és només glòria teva; jo no era res més que el vent passant inadvertit al teu damunt, i tota la salvatge dolçor que vaig desvetllar venia de tu!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2024 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 Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Dear Harp of my Country", appears in Irish Melodies
This text was added to the website: 2024-09-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 175