Autumn | How sorrowful are the dusky days

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by Afanasy Afanas'yevich Fet (1820 - 1892)

Translation © by Sergey Rybin

Осень

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: CHI ENG

Как грустны сумрачные дни
Беззвучной осени и хладной!
Какой истомой безотрадной
к нам в душу просятся они!

Но есть и дни, когда в крови
Золотолиственных уборов 
Горящих осень ищет взоров
И знойных прихотей любви.

Молчит стыдливая печаль,
Лишь вызывающее слышно,
И, замирающей так пышно,
Ей ничего уже не жаль.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Afanasy Afanas'yevich Fet (1820 - 1892) [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 Anton Stepanovich Arensky (1861 - 1906), "Осень", op. 27 (Шесть романсов (Shest' romansov) = 6 romances) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , "秋天", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 49

Autumn

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

How sorrowful are the dusky days
Of silent, chilly autumn!
With what joyless weariness
They press into our souls.

But also there are days when,
In blood-red and golden garments,
Autumn goes seeking for sultry glances
And the burning whims of passion.

Then the shy melancholy is silent,
Only defiance is heard,
And, in her fading hours, yet so opulent,
She has no regrets.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2026 by Sergey Rybin, (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.
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Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Afanasy Afanas'yevich Fet (1820 - 1892)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 64