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by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)

The ship went on with solemn face
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT CAT GER GER ITA
The ship went on with solemn face;
   To meet the darkness on the deep,
      The solemn ship went onward.
I bowed down weary in the place;
   For parting tears and present sleep
      Had weighed mine eyelids downward.

The new sight, the new wondrous sight!
   The waters around me, turbulent,
      The skies, impassive o'er me,
Calm in a moonless, sunless light,
   As glorified by even the intent
      Of holding the day glory!

Love me, sweet friends, this Sabbath day.
   The sea sings round me while ye roll
      Afar the hymn, unaltered,
And kneel, where once I knelt to pray,
   And bless me deeper in your soul
      Because your voice has faltered.

And though this sabbath comes to me
   Without the stolèd minister,
      And chanting congregation,
God's Spirit shall give comfort. He
   Who brooded soft on waters drear,
      Creator on creation.

He shall assist me to look higher,
He shall assist me to look higher,
   Where keep the saints, with harp and song,
      An endless endless sabbath morning,
      An endless sabbath morning,
And, on that sea commixed with fire,
And that sea commixed with fire,
   Oft drop their eyelids raised too long
      To the full Godhead's burning.
      The full Godhead's burning.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   E. Elgar 

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

  • by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), "A Sabbath on the Sea", appears in The Amaranth, first published 1839, rev. 1850 [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):

  • by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Sabbath Morning at Sea", op. 37 no. 3, first performed 1899, from Sea Pictures, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Matí de sàbat al mar", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "Matí de sàbat al mar", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Sabbatmorgen auf See", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Linda Godry) , "Sabbatmorgen auf See", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Mattino di sabato sul mare", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 34
Word count: 200

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