Break, break, break

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Brich, brich o Meer...!

(Sung text for setting by J. Végh)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: ENG

  Brich, brich, O Meer, o Meer!
Brich am grauen Gestein!
Die Gedanken spricht meine Lippe nicht aus
Die du rauschst in mein Herz hinein!

O, wohl dem Fischermann’s Sohn
Der da jauchzt mit der Schwester im Spiel!
O wohl dem Matrosenbub'
Der da singet, geweiget vom Kiel!

  Und bald hat das stattliche Schiff
In Rückkehr den Hafen erreicht:
O wer bringt mir wieder den Druck jener Hand,
Den Laut jener Stimme, die schweigt?

  Brich, brich, O Meer, o Meer!
O Meer, o Meer, brich an deinen Felsen o Meer!
Doch die zarte Schönheit vergang'nen Tag's
Kehrt nimmer, kehrt nimmermehr!

Composition:

János Végh

Zwölf Gedichte, Heft 2

English

Text Authorship:

by Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912), "Brich, brich, brich"

Based on:

a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, Volume II, first published 1842
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

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 [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-10-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 104

Break, break oh sea...!

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Végh)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Break, break,  ... 
Oh sea, break upon the grey rocks!
My lips cannot utter the thoughts
That your rushing brings into my heart!

 Oh happy is the fisher's son
Who rejoices with his sister at play!
Oh happy is the sailor lad
Who sings, rocked by the keel!

  And soon the stately ship has,
On its homeward journey, reached the harbour:
But who can bring back to me the pressure of that hand,
The sound of that voice that has fallen silent?

  Break, break,  ... 
Oh sea, oh sea, break upon your rocks, oh sea! 
But the tender beauty of past days 
Shall never and nevermore return!

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"
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, Volume II, first published 1842
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 115