by
Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912)
Brich, brich, brich
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Brich, brich, brich
O Meer an dem kalten Gestein!
Die Gedanken spricht meine Lippe nicht aus
Die du rauschst in mein Herz hinein!
O wohl dem Matrosenbub'
Der da singet, gewiegt vom Kiel!
O, wohl dem Fischermannsohn
Der da jauchzt mit der Schwester im Spiel!
Bald hat das stattliche Schiff
Auf der Rückkehr den Hafen erreicht:
Doch wer bringt mir zurück den Druck jener Hand,
Und den Laut jener Stimme, die schweigt?
Brich, brich, brich
An dem Fuss deines Felsens, o Meer!
Doch die zarte Schönheit vergangenen Tags
Kehrt mir nimmer und nimmermehr!
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• J. Végh About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Confirmed with Julius Hart, England und Amerika. Fünf Bücher englischer u. amerikanischer Gedichte von den Anfängen bis auf die Gegenwart, Minden i. W.: J.C.C. Bruns' Verlag, 1885, pages 337-338.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by János Végh (1845 - 1918), as Johann Végh, "Brich, brich o Meer...!", 1868, published 1869 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gedichte, Heft 2, no. 12, Pest: Táborszky & Parsch; Wien: F. Wessely; Leipzig: Fr. Hofmeister, Nr. 72, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2018-10-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 104
Break, break, break
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Break, break, break,
Oh sea, upon the cold rocks!
My lips cannot utter the thoughts
That your rushing brings into my heart!
Oh happy is the sailor lad
Who sings, rocked by the keel!
Oh happy is the fisher's son
Who rejoices with his sister at play!
Soon the stately ship has,
On its homeward journey, reached the harbour:
But who can bring back to me the pressure of that hand,
And the sound of that voice that has fallen silent?
Break, break, break,
At the foot of your cliffs, oh sea!
But the tender beauty of past days
Shall never and nevermore return for me!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Translations of title(s):
"Brich, brich o Meer...!" = "Break, break oh sea...!"
"Brich, brich, brich" = "Break, break, break"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912), "Brich, brich, brich"
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2019-03-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 115
