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Sea-birds are asleep, The world forgets to weep, Sea murmurs her soft slumber-song On the shadowy sand Of this elfin land; "I, the Mother mild, Hush thee, O my child, Forget the voices wild! Isles in elfin light Dream, the rocks and caves, Lull'd by whispering waves, Veil their marbles bright. Foam glimmers faintly white Upon the shelly sand Of this elfin land; Sea-sound, like violins, To slumber woos and wins, I murmur my soft slumber-song, Leave woes, and wails, and sins, Ocean's shadowy might Breathes good night, Good night!"
Confirmed with Stedman, Edmund Clarence, ed. A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895, Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1895, Bartleby.com, 2003. www.bartleby.com/246/474.html.
Authorship:
- by Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel (1834 - 1894), "Sea slumber-song" [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 Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Sea slumber song
", op. 37 no. 1, first performed 1899, from Sea Pictures, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Ninna nanna marina", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "Cançó de bressol del mar", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Meeresschlummerlied", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 90
Seevögel nicht mehr wach, die Welt vergisst ihr Ach, die See raunt sanft ihr Schlummerlied auf dämmrigem Sand im Elfenland: "Ich, die Mutter mild, bring’ dich zur Ruh’, mein Kind, vergiss die Stimmen wild! Inseln im Elfenlicht - traum, Fels und Höhlen am Kliff, von flüsternden Wellen gewiegt, verhüllt ist die marmorne Pracht. Gischt schimmert zaghaft weiß auf dem muschligen Sand dort im Elfenland; Meeresklang Geigen gleicht, Flirten dem Schlummer weicht, ich singe mein sanft’ Schlummerlied, geht, Jammer, Sünd’ und Leid. Meeres dämmrige Macht haucht gute Nacht Gut' Nacht."
Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 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
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Based on:
- a text in English by Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel (1834 - 1894), "Sea slumber-song"
This text was added to the website: 2015-08-07
Line count: 22
Word count: 89