Min hvide svane du stumme, du stille, hverken slag eller trille lod sangrøst ane. Angst beskyttende alfen, som sover, altid lyttende gled du henover. Men sidste mødet, da eder og øjne var lønlige løgne, ja da, da lød det! I toners føden du slutted din bane. Du sang i døden; du var dog en svane!
Text Authorship:
- by Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906), "En svane", written 1871, appears in Digte [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 Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907), "En svane", op. 25 (Seks digt af Henrik Ibsen) no. 2 (1876), published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Copenhagen, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Henzen (1850 - 1910) , written c1890 ; composed by Edvard Grieg.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Un cygne", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Anna Maria Norberg-Schulz) , "Un cigno", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "白鳥", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 55
Mein Schwan, mein stiller, Mit weissem Gefieder, Deine wonnigen Lieder Verriet kein Triller. Ängstlich sorgend Des Elfen im Grunde, Glittst du horchend Allzeit in die Runde. Und doch bezwangst du Zuletzt mich beim Scheiden Mit trügenden Eiden, Ja da, da sangst du! Du schlossest singend Die irdische Bahn doch, Du starbst verklingend; Du warst ein Schwan doch!
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Wilhelm Henzen (1850 - 1910), written c1890 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Norwegian (Bokmål) by Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906), "En svane", written 1871, appears in Digte
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907), "Ein Schwan", op. 25 (Seks digt af Henrik Ibsen) no. 2 (1876) [ voice and piano ], Copenhagen, also set in Norwegian (Bokmål) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (C. Ersel King) , "The swan", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: C. Ersel King
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 57