by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
Translation by Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov (1829 - 1865)
Beside the ungathered rice he lay
Language: English
Beside the ungathered rice he lay, His sickle in his hand; His breast was bare, his matted hair Was buried in the sand. Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep, He saw his Native Land. Wide through the landscape of his dreams The lordly Niger flowed; Beneath the palm-trees on the plain Once more a king he strode; And heard the tinkling caravans Descend the mountain-road. He saw once more his dark-eyed queen Among her children stand; They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks, They held him by the hand!-- A tear burst from the sleeper's lids And fell into the sand. And then at furious [speed]1 he rode Along the Niger's bank; His bridle-reins were golden chains, And, with a martial clank, At each leap he could feel his scabbard of steel Smiting his stallion's flank. Before him, like a blood-red flag, The bright flamingoes flew; From morn till night he followed their flight, O'er plains where the tamarind grew, Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts, And the ocean rose to view. At night he heard the lion roar, And the hyena scream, And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds Beside some hidden stream; And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums, Through the triumph of his dream. The forests, with their myriad tongues, Shouted of liberty; And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud, With a voice so wild and free, That he started in his sleep and smiled At their tempestuous glee. He did not feel the driver's whip, Nor the burning heat of day; For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep, And his lifeless body lay A worn-out fetter, that the soul Had broken and thrown away!
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View original text (without footnotes)1: Coleridge-Taylor: "pace"
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The slave's dream", appears in Poems on Slavery, first published 1842 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Beside the ungathered rice he lay", op. 54 no. 1 [ chorus and orchestra or piano ], from Three Choral Ballads, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Slavens dröm" ; composed by Emil Sjögren.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ernst Eckstein) , "Des Sclaven Traum", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in Dritte Abtheilung
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov) , "Сон невольника", first published 1861
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-12
Line count: 48
Word count: 288
Son nevol`nika
Language: Russian (Русский) after the English
Istomlenny'j, na risovoj nive on spal. Grud` otkry'tuyu zheg emu znoj; Serp ostalsya v ruke, — i v goryachem peske On kurchavoj tonul golovoj. Pod tumanom i ten`yu glubokogo sna Snova videl on kraj svoj rodnoj. Tixo czarstvenny'j Niger katilsya pred nim, Uxodya v bezgranichny'j prostor. On czarem by'l opyat`, i na pal`max rodny'x Otdy'xal sred` polej ego vzor. I zvenya i gremya opuskalisya v dol Karavany' s siyayushhix gor. I opyat` chernookoj czarice svoej S nezhnoj laskoj glyadel on v glaza, I detej obnimal, — i opyat` usly'xal I rodny'x i druzej golosa. Tixo drognuli sonny'e veki ego, — I s licza pokatilas` sleza. I na borzom kone vdol` reki on skakal Po znakomy'm, rodny'm beregam… V serebre povoda, — zolotaya uzda… Gromkij topot zvuchal po polyam Sred` gluxoj tishiny', — i stuchali nozhny' Dlinnoj sabli konyu po bokam. Vperedi slovno krasny'j krovavy'j platok, Yarkokry'ly'j flamingo letel. Vsled za nim on do nochi skakal po lugam, Gde krugom tamarind zelenel. Pokazalisya xizhiny' kafrov,— i vot Okean pered nim zasinel. Noch`yu sly'shal on rev i ry'kanie l`va, I gieny' pronzitel`ny'j voj; Sly'shal on, kak v pusty'nnoj reke begemot Myal trostnik svoej tyazhkoj stopoj… I nad sonny'm pronessya torzhestvenny'j gul, Slovno radostny'j klik` boevoj. Miriadoj nemolchny'x svoix yazy'kov O svobode glasili lesa; Klichem voli v dy'xanii pusty'ni neslis` I zemli i nebes golosa… I uly'bka i trepet proshli po liczu, I smezhilisya krepche glaza. On ne chuvstvoval znoya; ne sly'shal, kak bich Provizzhal u nego nad spinoj… Czarstvo sna ozarila siyaniem smert`, I na nive ostalsya — nemoj I bezzhiznenny'j trup: peretertaya cep`, Sokrushennaya vol`noj dushoj.
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Text Authorship:
- by Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov (1829 - 1865), "Сон невольника", first published 1861 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The slave's dream", appears in Poems on Slavery, first published 1842
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-16
Line count: 48
Word count: 265