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Adrift! A little boat adrift! And night is coming down! Will no one guide a little boat Unto the nearest town? So sailors say, on yesterday, Just as the dusk was brown, One little boat gave up its strife, And gurgled down and down. But angels say, on yesterday, Just as the dawn was red, One little boat o'erspent with gales Retrimmed its masts, redecked its sails Exultant, onward sped!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Poems by Emily Dickinson. Third Series, ed by Mabel Loomis Todd, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1896.
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written c1858, appears in Poems: Third Series, in 4. Time and Eternity, no. 47, first published 1896 [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 Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "Adrift! A little boat adrift!", 1999 [ satb chorus a cappella ], from By a departing light, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Rogers Pinkham (1923 - 2006), "A little boat adrift", from Called Home, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Es treibt umher! Ein kleines Boot!", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-09-21
Line count: 13
Word count: 70
À la dérive ! Un petit bateau à la dérive ! Et la nuit est entrain de tomber ! Personne ne guidera un petit bateau Jusqu'à la ville la plus proche ? Ainsi les marins disent -- hier -- Juste comme le crépuscule devenait brun Un petit bateau a abandonné sa lutte Et a gargouillé de plus en plus profond. Ainsi les anges disent -- hier -- Juste comme l'aube devenait rouge Un petit bateau -- épuisé par les coups de vents -- A regréé ses mâts -- s'est paré de ses voiles -- Et est parti comme une flèche -- triomphant !
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written c1858, appears in Poems: Third Series, in 4. Time and Eternity, no. 47, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-09
Line count: 13
Word count: 89