When I dream that you love me, you'll surely forgive; Extend not your anger to sleep; For in visions alone your affection can live; I rise, and it leaves me to weep. Then, Morpheus! envelop my faculties fast, Shed o'er me your languor benign; Should the dream of to-night but resemble the last, What rapture celestial is mine! They tell us that slumber, the sister of death, Mortality's emblem is given; To fate how I long to resign my frail breath, If this be a foretaste of Heaven! Ah! frown not, sweet lady, unbend your soft brow, Nor deem me too happy in this; If I sin in my dream, I atone for it now, Thus doom'd, but to gaze upon bliss. Though in visions, sweet lady, perhaps you may smile, Oh! think not my penance deficient; When dreams of your presence my slumbers beguile To awake, will be torture sufficient.
R. Ascham sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Works of Lord Byron, including the Suppressed Poems, Paris: A. and V. Galignani, 1828, page 4
Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "To M. S. G.", appears in Hours of Idleness, first published 1807 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Roger Ascham (1864 - 1934), "When I dream that you love me", op. 22 (Twelve Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment) no. 9 (1882-1899), published c1910, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], London, Charles Vincent [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederick Bowen Jewson (1823 - 1891), "When I dream that you love me, you'll surely forgive", published 1856 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Friedrich Ludwig Kannegießer (1781 - 1861) , "An M. S. G." ; composed by Annette Elisabeth, Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Nikolai Porfiryevich Grekov (1810 - 1866) , no title ; composed by Erazm Rafal Dłuski.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-16
Line count: 20
Word count: 151
Wenn ich träume, Du liebst mich, so [wirst]1 du vergeben, Sey gegen den Traum nicht entbrannt, [Nur in Träumen]2 vermag deine Liebe zu leben, Ich [erwach' und ich]3 weine, sie schwand. D'rum, Morpheus, hülle nur fest meine Sinnen [Mit gütiger]4 Mattigkeit ein, Und laß einen Traum wie den letzten beginnen, Welch' himmlische Lust [wär']5 mein. Die Sterblichkeit zeiget der Schlummer im Bilde Als Bruder des Todes uns an. Ist dieser ein Vorschmack von himmlischer Milde, Fort, nichtiger [Odem]6, sodann! O zürne nicht, heitre die Brauen, Du [süsse]7, Als wäre zu hold mein Geschick; Für die [Sünd' im Traum]8, sieh nun, wie ich büße, Nur schauen ja darf ich das Glück! Und lächeln dem Schläfer einmal Deine Züge, Folgt gnügende Strafe darauf, Wie süss ein Gesicht auch von Dir mich belüge, Zu erwachen gibt Qualen vollauf.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Lord Byron's Poesien. Aus dem Englischen, Fünf und zwanzigstes Bändchen, übersetzt von Karl Ludwig Kannegiesser, Zwickau: im Verlage der Gebrüder Schumann, 1827, pages 49-50.
1 Droste-Hülshoff: "magst"2 Droste-Hülshoff: "Im Traum nur"
3 Droste-Hülshoff: "erwache und"
4 Droste-Hülshoff: "In liebliche"
5 Droste-Hülshoff: "wäre"
6 Droste-Hülshoff: "Athem"
7 Droste-Hülshoff: "Süße"
8 Droste-Hülshoff: "Sünde im Traume"
Text Authorship:
- by Karl Friedrich Ludwig Kannegießer (1781 - 1861), "An M. S. G." [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "To M. S. G.", appears in Hours of Idleness, first published 1807
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Annette Elisabeth, Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff (1797 - 1848), "Aus dem Englischen von Byron", published 1877 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-12-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 146