The cypress curtain of the night is spread, And over all a silent dew is cast. The weaker cares by sleep are conquered. But I alone with hideous grief aghast, In spite of Morpheus' charms a watch do keep Over mine eyes to banish careless sleep. Yet oft my ttrembling eyes through faintness close; And then the map of Hell before me stands, Which ghosts do see and I am one of those Ordaines to pine in sorrow's endless bands, Since from my wretched soul all hopes are reft, And now no cause of life to me is left. Grief, sieze my soul for that will still endure When my crazed body is consumed and gone; Bear it to thy black den, there keep it sure, Where thou ten thousand souls dost tire upon: Yet all do not afford such food to thee All this poor one, the worser part of me.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [author's text not yet checked 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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "The cypress curtain of the night", published 1601, from A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Bangnis", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "La noche ha extendido su manto oscuro como el ciprés", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 152
Schon will die Nacht den dunkeln Vorhang breiten, Schon teilt der Tau still seine Perlen aus; Die kleinern Sorgen, müdgewacht, entgleiten – Nur ich, allein in diesem düstern Graus, Ich schlafe nicht, in Trübnis halt ich Wacht, Daß mich kein Traum befällt im Graun der Nacht. [... ... ... ... ... ...] Nimm meine Seele, Nacht, auf deine Schwingen Und wahr sie mir, wenn dieser Leib zerfiel! Von Lust, von Leid, nichts bleibt von all den Dingen, Nur sie allein währt bis zum letzten Ziel. Hüt´ meine Seele, die in Bangnis zagt, Bis das Gericht, das Letzte Urteil, tagt!
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 99. Note: only stanzas 1 and 3 were translated, so we have added some space to make the translation line up with its original.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), "Bangnis", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 18
Word count: 93