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: 86
Sinnend am bewegten Meere, Das mein Lieb und mich getheilt, Send' ich in die weite Leere, Gruß und Kuß ihr, wo sie weilt. Furcht und Hoffnung, wechselweise, Streiten um die Herrschaft beid', Flüstern um mein Lager leise, Stets von ihr, die, ach, so weit. Ihr, von Sorgen nie verwundet, Nie im Bett vor Thränen wach, Die Euch Scherz und Jubel mundet, Euch ist theuer jeder Tag. Süße Nacht, o hab' Erbarmen, Komm mit deinem Schlummerkleid, Träume, o erzählt mir Armen, Doch von ihr, die, ach, so weit.
Text Authorship:
- by Adolf Wilhelm Ernst von Winterfeld (1824 - 1888), "Sinnend am bewegten Meere", first published 1860 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Siegmund von Hausegger (1872 - 1948), "Sinnend am bewegten Meere", published <<1905 [tenor and piano], from Drei Lieder, no. 3, Leipzig, C. F. Kahnt [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-06-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 87