Ô où rêves-tu | LiederNet

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by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Oh where art thou dreaming

Language: English

Our translations: FRE

Oh where art thou dreaming,
  On land, or on sea?
In my lattice is gleaming 
  The watch-light for thee;
And this fond heart is glowing
  To welcome thee home,
And the night is fast going,
  But thou art not come:
      No, thou com'st not!

'Tis the time when night flowers
  Should wake from their rest,
'Tis the hour of all hours
  When the lute singeth best,
But the flowers are half sleeping
  Till thy glance they see;
And the hushed lute is keeping
  Its music for thee.
      Yet thou com'st not!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Abel • H. MacCunn

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Song" [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 Frederic Abel (flourished 1852-53), "Oh, where art thou dreaming?", published 1852 [ voice and piano ], Cincinnati: W.C. Peters and Sons [sung text checked 1 time]
by Hamish MacCunn (1868 - 1916), "Oh where art thou dreaming?", 1887 [ chorus ], partsong [sung text checked 1 time]

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

FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Virginia Knight

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 91

Ô où rêves‑tu

Language: French (Français) after the English

Ô où rêves-tu,
  Sur la terre ou sur la mer ?
À ma fenêtre brille 
  La veilleuse pour toi ;
Et ce cœur épris s'enflamme
  Pour t’acceullir à la maison
Et la nuit passe vite
  Mais tu n’es pas venue
    Non, tu ne viens pas !

C’est l’heure où les fleurs nocturnes
  Devraient s’éveiller de leur repos,
C’est l’heure parmi toutes les heures
  Où le luth chante le mieux,
Mais les fleurs sont à demi endormies
  Jusqu’à ce qu’elles aperçoivent ton regard ;
Et le luth silencieux garde
  Sa musique pour toi.
      Pourtant, tu ne viens pas !

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Oh where art thou dreaming?" = "Ô où rêves-tu"
"Song" = "Chanson"

Text Authorship:

Translation from English 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 English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Song"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-06-11
Line count: 18
Word count: 93