Oh! when I sleep | Oh, when I sleep, approach my bed

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by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Oh! Quand je dors

(Sung text for setting by F. Liszt)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CHI CHI ENG ENG POR

Oh! quand je dors, viens auprès de ma couche, 
comme à Pétrarque apparaissait Laura,
Et qu'en passant ton haleine me touche... 
       Soudain ma bouche
       S'entrouvrira!

Sur mon front morne où peut-être s'achève
Un songe noir qui trop longtemps dura,
Que ton regard comme un astre se lève...
       Et soudain mon rêve
       Rayonnera!

Puis sur ma lèvre où voltige une flamme,
Éclair d'amour que Dieu même épura,
Pose un baiser, et d'ange deviens femme...
       Soudain mon âme
       S'éveillera!

Composition:

Franz (Ferenc) Liszt

German (Deutsch)

Text Authorship:

by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Les Rayons et les Ombres, no. 27, first published 1840

See other settings of this text.

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

CHI Chinese (中文) (Yan-Jiang Che) , "喔！當我沈睡", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CHI Chinese (中文) (Mei Foong Ang) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Oh! when I sleep", copyright ©
ENG English [singable] (Peter Low) , "Oh while I sleep", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English [singable] (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "O in my dreams"
POR Portuguese (Português) (Margarida Moreno) , "Oh! Quando durmo", copyright © 2011, (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: 15
Word count: 77

Oh! when I sleep

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Liszt)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

Oh, when I sleep, approach my bed,
as Laura appeared to Petrach;
and as you pass, touch me with your breath...
at once my lips
will part!

On my glum face, where perhaps 
a dark dream has rested for too long a time,
let your gaze lift it like a star...
at once my dream
will be radiant!

Then on my lips, where there flits a brilliance,
a flash of love that God has kept pure,
place a kiss, and transform from angel into woman...
at once my soul
will awaken!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Les Rayons et les Ombres, no. 27, first published 1840
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 91