by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)
Of that so sweet imprisonment
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Of that so sweet imprisonment
My soul, dearest, is fain --
Soft arms that woo me to relent
And woo me to detain.
Ah, could they ever hold me there
Gladly were I a prisoner!
Dearest, through interwoven arms
By love made tremulous,
That night allures me where alarms
Nowise may trouble us;
But sleep to dreamier sleep be wed
Where soul with soul lies prisoned.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, appears in Chamber Music, no. 22, first published 1907 [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 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "Of that so sweet imprisonment" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ross Lee Finney (1906 - 1997), "Of that so sweet imprisonment", 1952, published 1985, first performed 1975 [ voice and piano ], from Chamber Music, no. 22, Henmar Press [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 65