The first kiss | As the evening star sat on the edge of the silver-lined cloud

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by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)

Translation © by David McCleery

Den första kyssen

Language: Swedish (Svenska)

Our translations: ENG FIN FRE GER

På silfvermolnets kant satt aftonstjernan,
Från lundens skymning frågte henne tärnan:
Säg, aftonstjerna, hvad i himlen tänkes,
När första kyssen åt en älskling skänkes?
Och himlens blyga dotter hördes svara:
På jorden blickar ljusets englaskara,
Och ser sin egen sällhet speglad åter;
Blott döden vänder ögat bort -- och gråter.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Liljefors • J. Sibelius

Modernized spelling version used by Sibelius and Liljefors:

På silvermolnets kant satt aftonstjärnan,
Från lundens skymning frågte henne tärnan:
Säg, aftonstjärna, vad i himlen tänkes,
När första kyssen åt en älskling skänkes?
Och himlens blyga dotter hördes svara:
På jorden blickar ljusets änglaskara,
Och ser sin egen sällhet speglad åter;
Blott döden vänder ögat bort -- och gråter.

Text Authorship:

by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877), "Den första kyssen", appears in Lyriska dikter II [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 Ruben Liljefors (1871 - 1936), "Den första kyssen", op. 36 (Två dikter) no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Den första kyssen", op. 37 no. 1 (1900), published 1906 [ voice and piano ], from Fem sånger, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (David McCleery) , "The first kiss", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Ensi suudelma", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le premier baiser", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Der erste Kuss ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 49

The first kiss

Language: English after the Swedish (Svenska)

As the evening star sat on the edge of the silver-lined cloud
The maiden asked her from the twilit grove:
"Tell me, evening star, what do they think in heaven
When a lover receives her first kiss?"
And heaven’s bashful daughter replied:
"The angels look to earth
And see the reflection of their bliss.
Only death turns away, and weeps."

Text Authorship:

Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by David McCleery, (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 Swedish (Svenska) by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877), "Den första kyssen", appears in Lyriska dikter II
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-01-21
Line count: 8
Word count: 60