by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Translation by Christian Preezmann (1822 - 1893), as Caralis
Love thee, dearest? love thee?
Language: English
Love thee, dearest? love thee?
Yes, by yonder star I swear,
Which thro’ tears above thee
Shines so sadly fair;
Tho’ often dim,
With tears, like him,
Like him my truth will shine,
And—love thee, dearest? love thee?
Yes, till death I’m thine.
Leave thee, dearest? leave thee?
No, that star is not more true;
When my vows deceive thee,
He will wander too.
A cloud of night
May veil his light,
And death shall darken mine—
But—leave thee, dearest? leave thee?
No, till death I’m thine.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), no title [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Christian Preezmann (1822 - 1893) , no title ; composed by Halfdan Kjerulf, Augusta von Otter.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-20
Line count: 18
Word count: 87
Den slukner, mit i Døden
Language: Danish (Dansk) after the English
Den slukner, mit i Døden, först i Dødens Blund. Men bortfly, Elskte, fra dig, fly fra dig, o nej, i Döden kun. Om jeg [elske vil]1 Dig? Ja! ved Stjernens Øie hist, Som i Taarer til Dig Skuer ned saa vist. Skjøndt mørknet tidt Af Taarer, mit Er trofast hver en Stund, Og elske Dig, det vil jeg — [Ja, til]2 Dødens Blund! Vil jeg [bortflye]3 fra Dig? Nei! før Stjernen hisset brast, [Løftet, som jeg gav Dig, Skal som den staae fast]4. I Nattens Slud [Dens Lys gaaer ud, Og mit]5 i Dødens Blund, Men bortflye, Elskte, fra Dig — [Nei]6, i Døden kun!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Christian Preetzmann, Hundrede Digte, Chr. Steen & Søns Forlag, Kbh., 2. opl., 1867, page 45.
1 Otter: "vil elske"2 Otter: "Elske dig til"
3 Otter: "fly bort"
4 Otter: "Det Løfte jeg Dig gav,/ Som den staar fast"
5 Otter: "Den slukner, mit i Døden,/ först"
6 Otter: "O nej"
Text Authorship:
- by Christian Preezmann (1822 - 1893), as Caralis, no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), no title
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Halfdan Kjerulf (1815 - 1868), "Om jeg elske vil dig", op. 26 (3 Sange) no. 3 (1867), published 1872 [ voice and piano ]
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Augusta von Otter (1869 - 1946), "Om jeg vil elske dig?" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-10-12
Line count: 21
Word count: 114