Given a cage of gold | Given a cage to live in, made of pure gold

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

Translation © by Gayle Royko Heuser, Anna Majtas Royko

Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého;

Language: Czech (Čeština) after the Czech (Čeština)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého;
nezmění on za ni hnízda trněného.
Komoni bujnému, jenž se pustou žene,
zřídka kdy připnete uzdy a třemene.
A tak i cigánu příroda cos dala:
k volnosti ho věčným poutem, k volnosti ho upoutala.

About the headline (FAQ)

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

a text in Czech (Čeština) by Adolf Heyduk (1835 - 1923), no title, appears in Cigánské melodie, no. 19, first published 1859
- Go to the text page.

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), "Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého;", op. 55 no. 7, B. 104 no. 7 (1880), from Cigánské melodie, no. 7, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by Adolf Heyduk (1835 - 1923) , no title ; composed by Antonín Dvořák.

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

ENG English (Gayle Royko Heuser) (Anna Majtas Royko) , "Given a cage of gold", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Marc Moreau) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Maria Rita De Matteis) , "Potendo il falco volare intorno alle cime dei monti Tatra", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-16
Line count: 6
Word count: 40

Given a cage of gold

Language: English after the Czech (Čeština)

Given a cage to live in, made of pure gold, 
the Gypsy would exchange it
for the freedom of a nest of thorns.
Just as a wild horse rushes to the wasteland,
seldom bridled and reined in, 
so too the Romani nature has been given eternal freedom!

Text Authorship:

Translation from Czech (Čeština) to English copyright © 2004 by Gayle Royko Heuser and Anna Majtas Royko, (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 Not Applicable [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Czech (Čeština) by Adolf Heyduk (1835 - 1923), no title, appears in Cigánské melodie, no. 19, first published 1859
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-22
Line count: 6
Word count: 47