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I saw the moon rise clear O'er hills and vales of snow, Nor told my fleet reindeer The track I wish'd to go. Yet quick he bounded forth, For well my reindeer knew, I've but one path, one path on earth, The path that leads to you! The gloom that winter cast How soon the heart forgets When summer brings, at last, Her sun that never sets! So dawn'd my love for you, So dawn'd my love for you, So fix'd through joy and pain, Than summer sun more true, 'Twill never set again.
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Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "I saw the moon rise clear", from The Works of Thomas Moore, Esq., Vol. IV, first published 1819 [author's text not yet checked 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 Dora Estella Bright (1863 - 1951), "Finland Love Song", published 1889 [ voice and piano ], from Twelve Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolph Martin Foerster (1854 - 1927), "Finland Love Song", op. 70 no. 2, published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from A Wreath of Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Beach Hawley (1858 - 1915), "Finland Love Song", published 1907 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John W. Slatter , "I saw the moon rise clear", published 1884 [ tenor or baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "A Finland love song", published 1886 [ voice and piano ], London, Hutchings and Romer [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2004-02-10
Line count: 17
Word count: 94
J'ai vu la lune se lever, claire, Au-dessus des collines et des vallées enneigées, Sans dire à mon rapide renne Le chemin que je souhaitais emprunter. Pourtant, il bondit en avant, Car mon renne le savait bien, Je n'ai qu'un seul chemin, un chemin sur la terre, Le chemin qui mène à toi ! La mélancolie que l'hiver a jetée, Comme le cœur l'oublie vite Quand l'été apporte enfin Son soleil qui ne se couche jamais ! Ainsi fut l’aurore de mon amour pour toi, Ainsi fut l’aurore de mon amour pour toi, Si solide à travers la joie et la douleur, Plus vrai que le soleil d'été, Il ne se couchera plus jamais.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"A Finland love song" = "Une chanson damour finnoise"
"Finland Love Song" = "Chanson damour finnoise"
"I saw the moon rise clear" = "J'ai vu la lune se lever, claire"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Pierre Mathé, (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), "I saw the moon rise clear", from The Works of Thomas Moore, Esq., Vol. IV, first published 1819
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-17
Line count: 17
Word count: 112