Amid the din of the ball | Amid the noisy ball, by chance

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by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875)

Translation © by Jacob Wilde

Средь шумного бала

(Sung text for setting by P. Tchaikovsky)

See original

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG

Средь шумного бала, случайно,
В тревоге мирской суеты,
Тебя я увидел, но тайна
Твои покрывала черты.

Лишь очи печально глядели,
А голос так дивно звучал,
Как звон отдалённой свирели,
Как моря бушующий вал.

Мне стан твой понравился тонкий
И весь твой задумчивый вид,
А смех твой, и грустный, и звонкий,
С тех пор в моём сердце звучит.

В часы одинокие ночи
Люблю я, усталый, прилечь;
Я вижу печальные очи,
Я слышу веселую речь,

И грустно я, грустно так засыпаю,
И в грёзах неведомых сплю...
Люблю ли тебя, я не знаю,
Но кажется мне, что люблю!

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Note on Transliterations

Composition:

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

German (Deutsch)

French (Français)

Text Authorship:

by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1851

See other settings of this text.

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Sonja Van Lier) , "Temidden van het bal", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Jacob Wilde) , "Amid the din of the ball", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bruno Tutenberg) , "Inmitten des Balles"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 96

Amid the din of the ball

(Sung text translation for setting by P. Tchaikovsky)

See original

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

Amid the noisy ball, by chance,
In the alarm of the mundane bustle, 
I glimpsed you, but mystery 
Veiled your features. 

Merely your mournful eyes looked out, 
And a voice so marvelous was heard, 
Like the ringing of a distant pipe, 
Like the playing swells of the sea. 

To me your slender figure was pleasing 
And your entire pensive appearance, 
And your laugh, both sorrowful, and clear, 
Since that time has been ringing in my heart.

In the lonely hours of the night 
I love, wearily, lying down; 
I see sorrowful eyes, 
I hear cheerful speaking, 

And I am sad, so sad that I fall asleep, 
And I sleep in unfamiliar dreams… 
Whether I love you, I don’t know, 
But it does seem to me that I love!

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2023 by Jacob Wilde, (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.
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Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1851
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This text was added to the website: 2023-08-24
Line count: 20
Word count: 128