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

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

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.

by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877)

Translation © by David McCleery

Den första kyssen

Language: Swedish (Svenska)

Available translation(s): ENG FIN FRE GER

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.

Version with original spelling:

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.

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 text: 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."

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:

Based on:

a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877), "Den första kyssen", appears in Lyriska dikter II

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