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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net
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.
When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night, I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring. [Ever-returning]1 spring, trinity sure to me you bring, Lilac blooming [perennial and drooping star in the west]2, And thought of him I love.
G. Crumb sets lines 1, 3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Fine: "O Ever-returning"
2 Hartmann: "perennial, misery you give to us all,"
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 1 [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 George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd", lines 1,3, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd", 1986, first performed 1987 [ vocal duet with piano ], from Inscriptions, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905 - 1963), "Frühling", 1936 [ alto and orchestra ], from Symphony No. 1, Versuch eines Requiems, no. 2, revised 1955 [sung text checked 1 time]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), no title, from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 1
- by William Harold Neidlinger (1863 - 1924), "Memories of President Lincoln", published 1920 [ baritone or tenor, piano ]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), no title [ baritone, mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 1
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johannes Schlaf (1862 - 1941) ; composed by Johanna Müller-Hermann.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Quand les derniers lilas dans la petite cour fleurissaient", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 6
Word count: 52
Quand les derniers lilas dans la petite cour fleurissaient, Et que la grand étoile disparaissait tôt dans le ciel à l'ouest dans la nuit, Je pleurais, et je pleurerai avec le printemps qui revient toujours. Printemps qui revient toujours, une trinité sûre pour moi, tu apportes, Le lilas qui fleurit éternellement et l'étoile qui disparaît à l'ouest, Et une pensée pour celui que j'aime.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2017 by Guy Laffaille, (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:
- a text in English by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2017-05-14
Line count: 6
Word count: 64