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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

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by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Søvnen og døden
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Our translations:  FRE
Chosen for Diff
Dagen i morgen, hvor finder jeg den? 
Kanhænde er nu mine siste stunder --
Men seiler jeg ind i en evighet hen
og møter jeg mørke igjen og igjen,
det lysner til slutt i et under.

En verden over og under vort blikk
en strømmende del av det store noget, 
da møter vi op med den del vi fik
og får av vort hele, av altet, et nik
at slutte os ind i toget.

Og var det idag jeg siste gang så
mennesket, jorden og aftenrøden, --
tikker mit hjærte inat istå,
er det farvel med alt -- la gå!
Intet er endt med døden.

Vi fødes og dødes og fødes påny
mennesker, jordliv og morgenrøde.
Døden er hvilen i søvnens ly
og livet et endeløst gry på gry.
Vi vækkes igjen fra de døde.

Text Authorship:

  • by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952), "Søvnen og døden", first published 1921 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Magne Amdahl (b. 1942), "Søvnen og døden", 1994 [ bass-baritone, narrator, violoncello, and piano ], from En Hamsun konsert, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le sommeil et la mort", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-08-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 132

Le sommeil et la mort
Language: French (Français)  after the Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Chosen for Diff
Où me trouverai-je demain ?
Peut-être mes dernières heures sont-elles arrivées,
mais si je vogue vers l’éternité,
et si je rencontre les ténèbres, encore et encore,
la lumière finira par poindre, comme par miracle.

Un monde au-dessus et au dessous de notre regard,
une partie qui s’écoule du grand Tout,
alors nous nous présentons avec la part qui nous a été donnée
et recevrons du Tout, de l'Univers, un signe de tête,
pour nous joindre au cortège.

Et si c'était aujourd'hui que je voyais, pour la dernière fois, 
l’homme, la terre et le rouge du couchant,
si mon cœur s’arrêtait de battre cette nuit,
ce serait un adieu à tout, qu’importe !
Rien ne s’achève avec la mort.

Nous naissons, nous mourons et naissons à nouveau,
hommes, vie terrestre et rougeoiement de l’aurore.
La mort est le repos dans l'abri du sommeil,
et la vie, une succession infinie d’aubes.
Nous nous réveillons à nouveau d’entre les morts.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Norwegian (Bokmål) to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Norwegian (Bokmål) by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952), "Søvnen og døden", first published 1921
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-20
Line count: 20
Word count: 155

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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