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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
Était-ce un rêve, en un temps merveilleux Que j'étais une amie de ton cœur ? Je m'en souviens comme d'un air silencieux Dont les cordes vibrent encore. Je me souviens d'une rose que tu avais lancé, D'un regard si timide et si tendre ; Je me souviens d'une larme brillante lors de la séparation. Était-ce tout, seulement un rêve ? Un rêve aussi bref que la vie d'une anémone, Dans une prairie verte au printemps, Dont la beauté se fane vite Devant une multitude de nouvelles fleurs. Mais souvent la nuit j'entends une voix À travers le flot de mes larmes amères : Cache le souvenir profondément dans ton cœur, C'était ton plus beau rêve !
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 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 Swedish (Svenska) by Josef Julius Wecksell (1838 - 1907)
This text was added to the website: 2012-12-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 111