Musing on the roaring ocean, Which divides my love and me, Wearying heaven in warm devotion For his weal where'er he be: Hope and Fear's alternate billow Yielding late to Nature's law, Whispering spirits round my pillow, Talk of him that 's far awa. Ye whom sorrow never wounded, Ye who never shed a tear, Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded, Gaudy day to you is dear. Gentle night, do thou befriend me! Downy sleep, the curtain draw! Spirits kind, again attend me, Talk of him that 's far awa!
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 211.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean" [author's text checked 2 times 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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Musing on the roaring ocean", WoO. 152 (25 irische Lieder) no. 13, G. 223 no. 13 (1810/3) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William Sterndale Bennett (1816 - 1875), "Musing on the roaring ocean", op. 23 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Musing on the roaring ocean", 1950 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Sehnsucht am Strande" ; composed by Carl August Krebs, Clara Schumann, née Wieck.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Wilhelm Ernst von Winterfeld (1824 - 1888) , "Sinnend am bewegten Meere", first published 1860 ; composed by Siegmund von Hausegger.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) ; composed by William Sterndale Bennett.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Sníc u moře bouřlivého"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Songeant à l'océan mugissant", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Am Strande"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 86
Traurig schau' ich von der Klippe Auf die Flut, die uns getrennt, Und mit Inbrunst fleht die Lippe: Schone seiner, Element! Furcht ist meiner Seele Meister, Ach! und Hoffnung schwindet schier; Nur im Traume bringen Geister Kunde vom Geliebten mir. Die ihr, fröhliche Genossen, Gold'ner Tag', in Lust und Scherz, Kummerthränen nie vergossen, Ach, ihr kennt nicht meinen Schmerz! Sei mir mild, o nächt'ge Stunde! Schlummer zieh' den Vorhang vor! Holde Geister, flüstert Kunde Vom Geliebten mir in's Ohr!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Robert Burn's Gedichte deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth, 1840, page 94
Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Sehnsucht am Strande" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl August Krebs (1804 - 1880), "Sehnsucht am Strande", op. 71, published 1840 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Schumann, née Wieck (1819 - 1896), "Am Strande", 1840, published 1841 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Aïda Raurell) , "A la riba", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Aïda Raurell) , "En la orilla", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 80