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Ty se ptáš, proč moje zpěvy Bouří zvukem zoufalým? Proč tak teskně, proč tak divě, Jako řeka ouskalím? Neptej [se mne]1, družko milá, Upřímnou tou řečí svou, Nesmím Ti to pověděti, Jaké trýzně srdce rvou. Ani lásky, ani slávy Věnce dávno strhané, Ani říší pranebeských Krásy časem zmítané: Ani štěstí uvadlého Omešené svaliny, Ani cizí vůkol zjevy, A ty světa pustiny: Ani vztek a rozruch vášní V neukojném bouření Nebudí těch mojich zpěvův Divoteskné proudění. Avšak jeden bol tak mocný, Že duch můj jím zvrácen jest, Uzírá mi žití kořen, Že nemůže bujně kvésť! A ten bol, jenž bez ustání Vrývá v srdce velkou strasť, Jenž ty divé písné budí: Ten bol mocný je má ... vlast.
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View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Cypřiše. Sbírka básní lyrických a epických od Gustava Pflegera (Moravského), V Praze (Prague) : Nákladem knihkupectvi: I. L. Kober, 1862, pages 72-73. Note: in stanza 4, line 2, the website antonin-dvorak.cz shows "Porozpukané skaliny" instead of "Omešené svaliny"; and in stanza 5 line 3, it shows "nojich zpěvů" instead of "mojich zpěvův"; and in stanza 7 line 3, it shows "bucí" instead of "budí". The Bärenreiter edition (2003) of Dvořák's setting follows the Pfleger-Moravský edition for these.
1 Dvořák: "se"Authorship:
- by Gustav Pfleger-Moravský (1833 - 1875), "R * * * ", appears in Cypřiše. Sbírka básní lyrických a epických, in 1. Dozvuky lyrické, in 2. Písně, no. 18 [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 Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904), "Ty se ptáš, proč moje zpěvy", B. 11 no. 18 (1865) [ voice and piano ], from Cypřiše, no. 18 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Patrick John Corness) , "Why are my songs, you must wonder", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Patrick John Corness
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 28
Word count: 117
Why are my songs, you must wonder, full of forlorn, raging sounds, why so sad, wild as a river crashing over stony beds? Do not ask, my darling girl, in tones ever so honest, for I am not allowed to tell what agonies rend my heart. Neither love’s nor glory’s garlands long since cast off and fading, nor charms of celestial realms, by passing of time, far flung, nor the neglected ruins of happiness now faded, nor strange phenomena round us, and the wastelands of this world, nor outbursts of passion, fury, unappeased raging storms, inspire the wild melancholy outflow of rage in my songs. And yet there is one pain so great its power destroys my soul; it gnaws away at my life’s root, so it can’t flourish at all. This pain that unceasingly causes my heart distress, and brings out such wild songs in me, is deep pain for my homeland.
Authorship:
- Translation from Czech (Čeština) to English copyright © 2023 by Patrick John Corness, (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 Czech (Čeština) by Gustav Pfleger-Moravský (1833 - 1875), "R * * * ", appears in Cypřiše. Sbírka básní lyrických a epických, in 1. Dozvuky lyrické, in 2. Písně, no. 18
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-18
Line count: 28
Word count: 153