Sleep | There is nothing in the world

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by Fyodor Kuzmych Teternikov (1863 - 1927), as Fyodor Sologub

Translation © by Sergey Rybin

Сон

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG ENG

В мире нет ничего 
Дожделеннее сна,
Чары есть у него, 
У него тишина,
У него на устах 
Ни печаль и ни смех,
И в бездонных очах
Много тайных утех.

У него широки, 
Широки два крыла,
И легки, так лёгки,
Как полночная мгла.
Не понять, как несёт,
И куда и на чем 
Он крылом не взмахнет
И не двинет плечом.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Fyodor Kuzmych Teternikov (1863 - 1927), as Fyodor Sologub, written 1886, appears in Тени: Рассказы и стихи (Teni: Rasskazy i stikhi) = Shadows: Stories and Poems, first published 1896 [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 Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Сон", op. 38 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six songs)) no. 5 (1916) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Laura Claycomb) (Peter Grunberg) , "A dream", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sergey Rybin) , "Sleep", copyright © 2026, (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: 16
Word count: 59

Sleep

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

There is nothing in the world
More longed for than sleep,
It has enchantment,
It has silence,
On its lips
Neither sorrow nor laughter,
And in its bottomless eyes
Much secret delight.

It has wide,
Two wide wings,
And light, so light,
Like the midnight mist.
It cannot be understood, how it carries you,
And where, and upon what—
It does not flap a wing
Nor move a shoulder.

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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Fyodor Kuzmych Teternikov (1863 - 1927), as Fyodor Sologub, written 1886, appears in Тени: Рассказы и стихи (Teni: Rasskazy i stikhi) = Shadows: Stories and Poems, first published 1896
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 69