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På den lugna skogssjöns vatten Satt jag hela sommarnatten, Och för böljans tropp, ur båten, Slängde tanklös ut försåten. Men en talltrast sjöng på stranden, Att han kunnat mista anden, Tills jag halvt förtörnad sade: "Bättre, om din näbb du lade Under vingen, och till dagen Sparde tonerna och slagen." Men den djärve hördes svara: "Gosse, låt ditt metspö vara. Såg du opp kring land och vatten, Kanske sjöng du själv om natten." Och jag lyfte opp mitt öga, Ljus var jorden, ljust det höga, Och från himlen, stranden, vågen Kom min flicka mig i hågen. Och, som fågeln spått i lunden, Sjöng jag denna sång på stunden.
Text Authorship:
- by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877), "Sommarnatten", 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 Hugo Ingelius (1863? - 1899?), "Sommarnatten" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947), "Sommarnatten", 1917, published 1917 [ voice and piano ], from Idyll, no. 1, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Sommarnatten", op. 90 (6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 5 (1917) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947) , "Die Sommernacht" ; composed by Ture Rangström.
- 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):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Summer night", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kesäyö", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nuit d'été", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: John Versmoren
This text was added to the website: 2004-07-05
Line count: 20
Word count: 108
Upon the calm forest-lake’s surface I floated the whole summer night, And over the troop of waves, from the boat, I dangled my bait, devoid of thought. But a thrush sang from the shore, As if he could lose himself, Until I, half-despondent, said: “Better to hide your beak Under your wing, and until morning Save your tones and rhythms.” But the bold voice was heard in answer: “Boy, let your fishing rod be. If you really looked at the land and water, You'd probably sing at night too.” And I lifted up my eyes, Earth was full of light, the heavens were bright, And from the sky, the shore, the waves, My girl appeared in my mind. And, as the bird in the grove had foretold, I burst into song at that moment.
Translator's notes: Although J. L. Runeberg wrote exclusively in Swedish, he wrote the text for the Finnish national anthem (Swedish: “Vårt land”; Finnish: “Maamme”) and is considered to be the Finnish national poet.
Line 1: more literally, vatten = water
Line 4: or "cast my bait"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by Laura Prichard, (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), "Sommarnatten", appears in Lyriska dikter II
This text was added to the website: 2018-12-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 134