by
Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)
The end
Language: English
Our translations: CAT FRE SPA
After the blast of lightning from the East,
The flourish of loud clouds, the Chariot Throne;
After the drums of time have rolled and ceased,
And by the bronze west long retreat is blown,
Shall life renew these bodies? Of a truth
All death will He annul, all tears assuage? -
[Or fill these void veins full again with youth]1,
And wash, with an immortal water, Age?
When I do ask white Age he saith not so:
"My head hangs weighed with snow."
And when I hearken to the Earth, she saith:
"My fiery heart shrinks, aching. It is death.
Mine ancient scars shalls not be glorified,
Nor my titanic tears, the sea, be dried."
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• B. Britten View original text (without footnotes)
First published in the Saturday Westminster Gazette, 1919.
1 Britten: "Fill the void veins of Life again with youth"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sanctus", op. 66 no. 4, published 1961 [ soprano, tenor, baritone, satb chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, chamber orchestra, organ ], from War Requiem, no. 4
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La fin", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Dr. Anthony Krupp) (Clo Blanco) , "El fin", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 116
Després de l’esclat de llampecs a...
Language: Catalan (Català) after the English
Després de l’esclat de llampecs a llevant,
el brandir de núvols sorollosos, el Tron-Carruatge;
després que els tambors del Temps han redoblat i callat
i que les cornetes de l’oest han tocat a llarga retreta,
reprendrà la vida en aquests cossos? En veritat,
anul•larà tota la mort, eixugarà totes les llàgrimes? –
O omplirà totes aquestes venes buides de joventut,
i amb una aigua immortal purificarà la senectut?
Quan pregunto a la blanca senectut, no em diu pas:
“El meu cap penja sota el pes de la neu.”
I quan escolto la Terra, ella em diu:
“El meu cor ardit s’encongeix de dolor. És mort.
Les meves antigues cicatrius no han de ser glorificades,
ni la meva immensa mar de llàgrimes assecada.”
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2016 by Salvador Pila, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2016-06-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 122
