by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Translation by Fanny (Franziska) von Hoffnaaß, née Jägerhuber (1831 - 1892)
Sail on, sail on
Language: English
Sail on, sail on, thou fearless bark, Wherever blows the welcome wind; It cannot lead to scenes more dark, More sad than those we leave behind. Each smiling billow seems to say "Though death beneath our surface be, Less cold we are, less false than they, Whose smiling wrecked thy hopes and thee." Sail on, sail on, through endless space, Through calm, through tempest, stop no more; The stormiest sea's a resting-place To him who leaves such hearts on shore. Or, if some desert land we meet, Where never yet false-hearted men Profaned a world, that else were sweet, Then rest thee, bark, but not till then.
Air -- The Humming of the Ban.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Sail on, sail on", appears in Irish Melodies [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sail on, sail on", note: arrangement of a tune called The Hummingbird of the Barn [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Axel Fernström (1897 - 1961), "Sail on, sail on", op. 62 no. 4 (1942) [ coloratura soprano and string quintet or orchestra ], from Songs of the Sea, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Fanny (Franziska) von Hoffnaaß, née Jägerhuber (1831 - 1892) ; composed by Joseph Rheinberger.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Navega, navega", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , "扬帆，扬帆", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Vogue, vogue", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 107
Treib zu, treib zu, mein kühnes Boot
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
[Treib zu, treib zu]1, mein kühnes Boot Wohin der Wind dich werfen mag, Nicht schlimmer ist der dunkle Tod, Als dieser lichte Tag! Mir ist's, als spräch es aus der Flut: Wohl ist's hier kalt, wohl ist hier Nacht, Doch kälter sind, die um den Mut, Ums Hoffen dich gebracht! [Treib zu, treib zu]1, und ruh nicht mehr, Nur fort und nimmer heimwärts. Ein Ruhort ist das wildste Meer Für ein enttäuschtes Herz. Doch finden wir ein einsam Land, Wo nie erklang ein treulos Wort, Das Blütenhauch in Gift verwandt: Dort ruh, mein Boot, nur dort!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Rheinberger, first setting: "Fahr zu, fahr zu"
Text Authorship:
- by Fanny (Franziska) von Hoffnaaß, née Jägerhuber (1831 - 1892) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Sail on, sail on", appears in Irish Melodies
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Treib zu, mein kühnes Boot", op. 55 no. 6 (1864), published 1871 [ soprano and piano ], from Liebesleben. Ein Cyclus von 8 Liedern, no. 6, Leipzig, Forberg [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Fahr zu, mein kühnes Boot", 1864, published 2004 [ voice and piano ], first setting (composed the same day as the second) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 100