by
António Machado (1875 - 1939)
Anoche cuando dormía
Language: Spanish (Español)
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,
que una fontana fluía
dentro de mi corazón.
Di, ¿por qué acequia escondida,
agua, vienes hasta mí,
manantial de nuestra vida
de donde nunca bebí?
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,
que una colmena tenía
dentro de mi corazón;
y las doradas abejas
iban fabricando en él,
con las amarguras viejas,
blanca cera y dulce miel.
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,
que un ardiente sol lucía
dentro de mi corazón.
Era ardiente porque daba
calores de rojo hogar,
y era sol porque alumbraba
y porque hacía llorar.
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,
que era Dios lo que tenía
dentro de mi corazón.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Last night as I slept", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (John Plant) , "Last night as I slept", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Jocelyne Fleury) , "Hier, alors que je dormais", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-18
Line count: 28
Word count: 110
Last night as I slept
Language: English  after the Spanish (Español)
Last night as I slept,
I dreamt -- wondrous dream! --
that there was a flowing spring
inside my heart.
I said: why, hidden aqueduct,
water, are you coming to me,
source of new life
which I have never drunk?
Last night as I slept,
I dreamt -- wondrous dream! --
that I held a beehive
inside my heart.
And the glittering bees
were busy making
from the old bitterness
white honeycombs and sweet honey.
Last night as I slept,
I dreamt -- wondrous dream! --
that a fiery sun was burning
inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a glowing hearth,
and the sun gave light
and tears to my eyes.
Last night, as I slept,
I dreamt -- wondrous dream! --
that it was God I held
inside my heart.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by António Machado (1875 - 1939), "Anoche cuando dormía"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-18
Line count: 28
Word count: 129