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 
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.
Wind whines and whines the shingle, The crazy pierstakes groan; A senile sea numbers each single Slimesilvered stone. From whining wind and colder Grey sea I wrap him warm And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder And boyish arm. Around us fear, descending Darkness of fear above And in my heart how deep unending Ache of love!
Authorship
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6 [author's text not yet checked 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 Lorne M. Betts (b. 1918), "On the beach at Fontana", 1952 [voice and piano], from Five Songs (1952) [text not verified]
- by Bill Hopkins (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", published 1967 [soprano, bass clarinet, trumpet, viola, harp], from Two Poems, no. 2, London, Universal Edition [text not verified]
- by Jack Marius Jarrett (b. 1934), "On the beach at Fontana", 1964 [soprano or tenor and piano], from The Unquiet Heart [text not verified]
- by Geert van Keulen (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", 1943, published 1984, rev. 1984 [soprano, flute (alto flute and piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, contrabass, harp, vibraphone (tam-tam), mandolin, and guitar], from Trieste, or Three Poems by James Joyce, no. 1, Amsterdam, Donemus [text not verified]
- by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), "On the beach at Fontana", 1929, published 1933 [high voice and piano], from The Joyce Book, no. 6. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Sur la plage à Fontana", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Am Strand von Fontana", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 56
Wind winselt, pfeift winselnd am Kieselstrand, die irren Pfähle des Pierstegs ächzen; Eine greise See zählt jeglichen schleimsilbrigen Stein. Aus pfeifendem Wind und kälterer grauer See hüll ich ihn warm und rühr an seine zitternde zierliche Schulter und seinen knabenhaften Arm. Um uns Bangnis, herein bricht die Dunkelheit aus bangem Oben und mir im Herzen tief, nie endend, der Schmerz aus Liebe!
Authorship
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
- a text in English by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6
This text was added to the website: 2014-09-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 62