Oh! my lonely — lonely — lonely — Pillow! Where is my lover? where is my lover? Is it his bark which my dreary dreams discover? Far — far away! and alone along the billow? Oh! my lonely — lonely — lonely — Pillow! Why must my head ache where his gentle brow lay? How the long night flags lovelessly and slowly, And my head droops over thee like the willow! Oh! thou, my sad and solitary Pillow! Send me kind dreams to keep my heart from breaking, In return for the tears I shed upon thee waking; Let me not die till he comes back o'er the billow. Then if thou wilt — no more my lonely Pillow, In one embrace let these arms again enfold him, And then expire of the joy — but to behold him! Oh! my lone bosom! — oh! my lonely Pillow!
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Editor's note from Lord Byron, Works, etc., xiv. 357, Pisa, September, 1821 : "These verses were written by Lord Byron a little before he left Italy for Greece. They were meant to suit the Hindostanee air, "Alla Malla Punca," which the Countess Guiccioli was fond of singing."
Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Stanzas to a Hindoo Air", written 1821, first published 1832 [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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Oh!my lonely, lonely, lonely Pillow!", subtitle: "Stanzas to a Hindoo Air", op. 12 no. 5 (1896), published 1896 [ voice and piano ], from Southern Love Songs, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ernst Ortlepp (1800 - 1864) , "Strophen" ; composed by Robert Steuer.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 148
O mein einsam einsam einsam Kissen! Wo ist der Geliebte, wo ist er? Sah im Traum sein Schiff ich auf dem Meer, Fern -- weit fern -- von Wellen fortgerissen? D mein einsam einsam einsam Kissen! Warum lieg' ich doch hier so allein? Und wie lang wird diese Nacht mir sein, Und wie viel werd' ich noch weinen müssen? O du einsam freudenloses Kissen, Gib mir Träume für mein brechend Herz! Denn am Tag begrüßt mich neuer Schmerz; Eh' ich sterbe, laß mich noch ihn wissen! Dann bist du nicht mehr ein einsam Kissen, Wenn mein Arm noch einmal ihn umschlingt Und mein letzter Hand ihm Abschied bringt; Freudig sterb' ich dann an seinem Küssen.
Confirmed with Lord Byron's sämmtliche Werke. Nach den Anforderung unserer Zeit neu übersetzt von Mehreren. Erster Band: Lyrische Gedichte zum erstenmal vollständig übersetzt von Ernst Ortlepp, Stuttgart, Hoffmann'sche Verlags-Buchhandlung, 1839, page 49.
Text Authorship:
- by Ernst Ortlepp (1800 - 1864), "Strophen" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Stanzas to a Hindoo Air", written 1821, first published 1832
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Steuer (1831 - 1895), "Strophen", op. 4 (4 Lieder für tiefe Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1859 [ low voice and piano ], Nürnberg, Schmid [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-20
Line count: 16
Word count: 114