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Pearls, tears of the sea

Song Cycle by Bruce Adolphe (b. 1955)

1. Heaven has shed a tear  [sung text checked 1 time]

Heaven has shed a tear
that meant to lose itself in the sea;
but the mussel came and locked it in:
you shall now be my pearl.
You should not fear the waves;
I will carry you peacefully through.
O you my pain, you my joy,
you tear of heaven in my bosom!
Heaven grant that with a pure soul
I may guard the purest of your tears.

Authorship:

  • by Emily Ezust (b. 1972), "Heaven has shed a tear", copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), no title, appears in Lyrische Gedichte, in 3. Liebesfrühling, in 1. Erster Strauß. Erwacht, no. 4
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

2. The sea hath its pearls  [sung text not yet checked]

The sea hath its pearls,
The heaven hath its stars;
But my heart, my heart,
My heart has its love.

Great are the sea and the heaven;
Yet greater is my heart,
And fairer than pearls and stars
Flashes and beams my love.

Thou little, youthful maiden,
Come unto my great heart;
My heart, and the sea and the heaven
Are melting away [with]1 love!

Authorship:

  • by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The sea hath its pearls", appears in The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, first published 1846 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Nordsee, in Erster Zyklus, in 7. Nachts in der Kajüte, no. 1
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1 White: "for"

Researcher for this text: Joanna Lonergan
Total word count: 133
Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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