English translations of 6 sånger (Six Songs), opus 90

by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)

1. Norden
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Norden", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 1 (1917)
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Löfven de falla,
Sjöarna frysa...
Flyttande svanor,
Seglen, o seglen
Sorgsna till södern,
Söken dess nödspis,
Längtande åter;
Plöjen dess sjöar,
Saknande våra!
Då skall ett öga
Se er från palmens
Skugga och tala:
"Tynande Svanor,
Hvilken förtrollning
Hvilar på norden?
Den som från södern
Längtar, hans längtan
Söker en himmel."

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Note: modern spelling would change "Löfven" to "Löven" and remove the leading 'H' for "Hvilken" and "Hvilar".


by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
1. The North
Language: English 
The leaves are falling
The lakes freeze over
Migrating swans
Glide, how they glide
Sorrowfully to the south,
To seek refuge,
Impatient to return;
They plough the lakes
Longing for ours!
There, a beady eye
Will spot you
From the shadow of a palm tree and say:
“O melancholic swans
What sort of magic
Enchants the North?
He who comes from the South
Has a yearning; he yearns
To find paradise.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by David McCleery, (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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This text was added to the website: 2018-02-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 71

Translation © by David McCleery
2. Hennes budskap
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Hennes budskap", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 2
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Kom, du sorgsna nordan;
Varje gång du kommer.
Bär du bud från henne.
Kommer du i fläkten.
Bär du hennes suckar;
Kommer du i ilen.
Bär du hennes klagan;
Kommer du i stormen.
Bär du hennes verop:
"Ve mig, edsförgätna.
Ve mig, ensam blevna!
Ur den gamles armar,
Från hans kalla kyssar,
O, vem för mig åter
Till min varma yngling,
Till min första kärlek!"

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
2. Her message
Language: English 
Come, you sad north wind;
Every time you come,
You bear a message from her.
[When] you come as a puff of air:
You bear her sighs;
[When] you come as a gust:
You bear her moans;
[When] you come as a storm:
You bear her lamentations:
“Woe to me, [your] oath forgotten.
Woe to me, all alone!
From the old man’s arms,
From his cold kisses,
Oh, who will bring me back
To my passionate young man,
To my first love!”

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2019 by Laura Prichard, (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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This text was added to the website: 2019-01-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 82

Translation © by Laura Prichard
3. Morgonen
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Morgonen", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 3
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Solen några purpurdroppar
Ren på österns skyar stänkt.
Och på buskar, blad och knoppar
Daggens pärleskur sig sänkt.

Skogens alla fåglar svinga
Jublande från topp till topp,
Tusen glädjeljud förklinga,
Tusen stämmas åter opp.

Fjärden krusas, böljan randas.
Lunden rörs av fläkt pa fläkt,
Liv och blomsterdofter blandas
I varenda andedräkt.

Ängel från det fjärran höga,
Varje väsens blida vän,
Gryning! har ett mulnat öga
Mött din ljusa anblick än?

Skingrad är bekymrens dimma,
Tankens dystra moln förgått;
Dagen i sin barndoms-timma
Älskar barndoms-känslor blott.

Ingen lider, ingen saknar:
Allt är glädje, frid och hopp.
Med naturens morgon vaknar
Varje hjärtas morgon opp.

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
3. The morning
Language: English 
The sun has sprinkled a few purple drops
Into the pure eastern sky.
And on bushes, leaf, and buds
The day’s pearls have dropped.

The birds of the forest soar
In celebration from treetop to treetop,
A thousand glad sounds fade away,
A thousand voices rise once more.

The sound ripples, the wave crests.
The grove is stirred by gust after gust,
Life and fragrance mix
In every breath.

Angel from the far away heights,
Every spirit’s gentle friend,
Dawn! Has your bright view
Become overcast yet?

Dissolved is the worrying fog,
The gloomy clouds of thought are forgotten;
The day in its infancy
Only loves childlike feelings.

No one suffers, no one yearns:
All is gladness, peace, and hope.
With nature’s awakening, wakes up
Every heart each morning.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's note for line 3-1: a sound is an open body of water in an archipelago



This text was added to the website: 2018-12-16
Line count: 24
Word count: 129

Translation © by Laura Prichard
4. Fågelfängaren
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Fågelfängaren", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 4 (1917) [ voice and piano ]
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Jag vandrar fram på skogens ban,
Och blickar opp i tall och gran,
Och ofta nog jag fåglar ser,
Men ingen flyger ner.

Och var och en tycks fly den stråt,
Där jag har utsatt mitt försåt,
Och lika tomhänt, som jag kom,
Jag måste vända om.

Jag borde se med sorg och ångst
På min bedragna fågelfångst,
Men huru felt det än må slå,
Är jag förnöjd ändå.

Jag har en snara kvar till slut,
Som aldrig lämnats tom förut,
Dit fågeln lika gärna går,
Som jag densamma får.

Och när jag kommer hem igen,
Jag gillrar än i afton den,
Och flicka lyder fågelns namn,
Och snaran är min famn.

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
4. The birdcatcher
Language: English 
I wander along the paths of the forest,
And glance up into the pines and firs,
And often enough I see birds,
But none fly near me.

And each one seems to shun the path
Where I have set out my snare,
And equally empty-handed, as [when] I came,
I must turn back.

I should look with sorrow and angst
Upon my being cheated out of catching a bird,
But however wrong it may be,
I’m nevertheless content.

I have one snare left to finish the job,
Which has never been left empty before,
Where the bird is as likely to go,
As would I [to catch it].

And when I come home again,
I set [the snare] at night,
And “flicka” is the bird’s name,
And the snare is my bosom.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2019 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's note for line -2: "Flicka" means girl or “she” and here could refer either to a daughter or to a lover.



This text was added to the website: 2019-01-05
Line count: 20
Word count: 132

Translation © by Laura Prichard
5. Sommarnatten
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Sommarnatten", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 5 (1917) [ voice and piano ]
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
På den lugna skogssjöns vatten
Satt jag hela sommarnatten,
Och för böljans tropp, ur båten,
Slängde tanklös ut försåten.
Men en talltrast sjöng på stranden,
Att han kunnat mista anden,
Tills jag halvt förtörnad sade:
"Bättre, om din näbb du lade
Under vingen, och till dagen
Sparde tonerna och slagen."
Men den djärve hördes svara:
"Gosse, låt ditt metspö vara.
Såg du opp kring land och vatten,
Kanske sjöng du själv om natten."
Och jag lyfte opp mitt öga,
Ljus var jorden, ljust det höga,
Och från himlen, stranden, vågen
Kom min flicka mig i hågen.
Och, som fågeln spått i lunden,
Sjöng jag denna sång på stunden.

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
5. Summer night
Language: English 
Upon the calm forest-lake’s surface
I floated the whole summer night,
And over the troop of waves, from the boat,
I dangled my bait, devoid of thought.
But a thrush sang from the shore,
As if he could lose himself,
Until I, half-despondent, said:
“Better to hide your beak
Under your wing, and until morning
Save your tones and rhythms.”
But the bold voice was heard in answer:
“Boy, let your fishing rod be.
If you really looked at the land and water,
You'd probably sing at night too.”
And I lifted up my eyes,
Earth was full of light, the heavens were bright,
And from the sky, the shore, the waves,
My girl appeared in my mind.
And, as the bird in the grove had foretold,
I burst into song at that moment.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's notes: Although J. L. Runeberg wrote exclusively in Swedish, he wrote the text for the Finnish national anthem (Swedish: “Vårt land”; Finnish: “Maamme”) and is considered to be the Finnish national poet.

Line 1: more literally, vatten = water
Line 4: or "cast my bait"


This text was added to the website: 2018-12-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 134

Translation © by Laura Prichard
6. Vem styrde hit din väg?
 (Sung text)
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Vem styrde hit din väg?", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 6 (1917)
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Långt bort om fjärdens våg,
långt bort om fjälets topp
du ensam dagen såg
och växte ensam opp. 

Jag saknade ej dig;
Jag sökte ej din stråt;
jag visste ej en stig,
som skulle lett ditåt.

Jag kände ej din far,
jag kände ej din mor,
jag såg ej var du var,
jag såg ej vart du for.

Liksom den bäck, där rann,
för den, som rinner här,
vi voro för varann,
så länge du var där;

Två plantor, mellan dem
en äng i blomning står;
två fåglar, som fått hem,
i skilda lundars snår.

O, andra nejders son!
vi flög du dädan, säg?
O fågel långt ifrån!
vem styrde hit din väg?

Till hjärtat, som var kallt,
säg, hur du lågor bar -
Hur kunde du bli allt
för den, du intet var?

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)
6. Who brought you here to me?
Language: English 
Far beyond the waves of the bay, 
far beyond the peaks of the mountains, 
alone you saw the light of day
and alone you grew up.

I did not miss you,
I did not try to find your tracks, 
I knew of no path
that would have led me there.

I did not know your father;
I did not know your mother;
I did not see where you had been,
I did not see where you were headed.

Like that stream in the distance 
flowing towards this stream, 
we were the exact same to each other
when you were distant from me.

Like two plants separated
by a meadow blooming between them,
Two birds that have found homes 
in different nests.

Oh, son of another world!
Tell me, how then did you fly?
Oh, bird from far away!
Who brought you here to me?

How did you carry these flames
to my cold heart? --
How could you become everything
to one who thought nothing of you?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2014 by Kyle Gee, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Kyle Gee.  Contact: kyleanthonygee (AT) gmail (DOT) com

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This text was added to the website: 2014-01-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 166

Translation © by Kyle Gee