by William Smyth (1765 - 1849)
Translation Singable translation by Georg Pertz (1830 - 1870)
O soothe me, my lyre
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
O soothe me, my lyre, with thy tones of soft sorrow, O soothe thy sad mistress that sinks in decay, Fainter today, to be fainter tomorrow, I fade like the flow'r and am passing away. Pale is my cheek, - it was fair as they told me - Who in the dance that but lately had been, Who that had seen me, and now should behold me, Would think me the Ellen that there he had seen? Dear was the world - I had youth, I had beauty, But 'tis not for life that I heave this sad sigh - Firm is my soul in its hope and its duty, - But oh! To be lov'd - then untimely to die.
Text Authorship:
- by William Smyth (1765 - 1849) [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "O soothe me, my lyre", WoO. 153 (20 Irische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 7, G. 224 no. 7, published 1814/6 [ voice, piano, violin, violoncello ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "O tröste mich, Harfe"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Pietro Sirena) , "Placami, mia Lira", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 115
O tröste mich, Harfe
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
O tröste mich, Harfe, mit Tönen von Sorgen, O tröste der Herrin den traurigen Sinn, Kraftloser heute und kraftloser morgen Welk' ich wie Blumen und schwinde dahin. Bleich ist die Wange mir - hold einst gepriesen - , Keiner, der jüngst mich zum Tanze sah gehn, Würde mein Antlitz ihm wieder gewiesen, Glaubte mich Ellen, die dort er gesehn. Süß war die Welt, bot in Glanz mir und Lust sich, Doch nicht ihren Schimmer beklag'ich so heiß; Stark ist mein Herz, seiner Pflichten bewusst sich, Doch bitter ist Tod, wenn geliebt man sich weiß.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Georg Pertz (1830 - 1870), "O tröste mich, Harfe" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Smyth (1765 - 1849)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 92