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Musing on the roaring ocean, Which divides my love and me, [Wearying]1 heaven in warm devotion For his weal where'er he be: Hope and Fear's alternate billow Yielding late to Nature's law, [Whispering]2 spirits round my pillow, Talk of him that 's far awa. Ye whom sorrow never wounded, Ye who never shed a tear, Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded, Gaudy day to you is dear. Gentle night, do thou befriend me! Downy sleep, the curtain draw! Spirits kind, again attend me, Talk of him that 's far awa!
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 211.
1 Bennett: "Wearing" (typo?)2 Bennett: "Whisp'ring"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean" [author's text checked 2 times 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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Musing on the roaring ocean", WoO. 152 (25 irische Lieder) no. 13, G. 223 no. 13 (1810/3) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William Sterndale Bennett (1816 - 1875), "Musing on the roaring ocean", op. 23 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Musing on the roaring ocean", 1950 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Sehnsucht am Strande" ; composed by Carl August Krebs, Clara Schumann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Wilhelm Ernst von Winterfeld (1824 - 1888) , "Sinnend am bewegten Meere", first published 1860 ; composed by Siegmund von Hausegger.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) ; composed by William Sterndale Bennett.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johann Heinrich Stuckenschmidt.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Sníc u moře bouřlivého"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Songeant à l'océan mugissant", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Am Strande"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 88
Songeant à l'océan mugissant
Qui nous sépare, mon amour et moi,
Fatiguant le ciel de mes ardentes prières
Pour son bien-être, où qu'il soit :
Sur la vague alternée d'Espoir et de Crainte
Cédant tard à la loi de Nature,
Des esprits murmurant autour de mon oreiller
Parlent de celui qui est loin.
Celui qui ne fut jamais blessé par le chagrin,
Celui qui jamais ne versa une larme,
Inaccessible aux soucis, environné de joie,
Ce jour tapageur lui est cher !
Gentille nuit, viens-moi en aide !
Doux sommeil, tire le rideau !
Aimables esprits, assistez-moi encore,
Parlez à celui qui est loin !
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Scottish (Scots) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean"
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 100