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by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
Translation by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912)

Swiftly walk over the western wave
Language: English 
 Swiftly walk over the western wave, 
     Spirit of Night! 
 Out of the misty eastern cave, 
   Where, all the long and lone daylight, 
 Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear 
 Which make thee terrible and dear, - 
     Swift be thy flight!

 Wrap thy form in a mantle grey 
     Star-inwrought! 
 Blind with thine hair the eyes of Day, 
   Kiss her until she be wearied out, 
 Then wander o'er city and sea, and land, 
 Touching all with thine opiate wand - 
     Come, long-sought!

 When I arose and saw the dawn, 
     I sigh'd for thee; 
 When light rode high, and the dew was gone, 
   And noon lay heavy on flower and tree, 
 And the weary Day turn'd to his rest, 
 Lingering like an unloved guest, 
     I sigh'd for thee.

 Thy brother Death came, and cried, 
     "Wouldst thou me?" 
 Thy sweet child Sleep, the filmy-eyed, 
   Murmur'd like a noontide bee, 
 "Shall I nestle near thy side?
 Wouldst thou me?" - And I replied, 
     "No, not thee!"

  Death will come when thou art dead, 
     Soon, too soon -
 Sleep will come when thou art fled; 
   Of neither would I ask the boon 
 I ask to thee, beloved Night -
 Swift be [thine]1 approaching flight,
     Come soon, soon!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   L. Lehrman •   E. Maconchy 

L. Lehrman sets lines 8-11
E. Maconchy sets stanza 5

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Maconchy: "thy"

Text Authorship:

  • by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "To night" [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 David Arditti (b. 1964), "To the Night", 1985, first performed 1994, from Three Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "Night", op. 2 (Two Songs) no. 1, unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "A songlet on an English love note", op. 41 (1977), first performed 1979, lines 8-11 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "To the night", 1965, first performed 1966, stanza 5 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Nocturnal, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Luise von Plönnies, née Leisler (1803 - 1872) , "An die Nacht" ; composed by Adolf Jensen.
      • Go to the text.

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Noci", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Az Éjhez"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 35
Word count: 198

Noci
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the English 
Ó duchu Noci! Po západní peřeji
        ó pospěš a přijď hned!
jenž’s v sluji východní ve mlhy závěji
sám po celý, dlouhý den před
sny radosti, bázně a plesu,
kterými dráh jsi v svém děsu,
        svůj zrychliž let!

Své tělo zahal v plášť, v šedivý mrak,
        jenž hvězdami jest tkán,
svým vlasem oslepiž jasný dne zrak,
až mdlý klesne zulíbán.
Pak dotkni se měst, moří, země
svou hůlkou s opiem jemně,
        tak dlouho ždán!

Když s lože jsem vstal a zem kol zřel,
        já za tebou lkal;
když na stráních žeh plál, rosy kmit mřel,
žár poledne v trávě nad stromy stál,
den po klidu kdy toužil stále,
host nemilý váhal jíti dále,
        já za tebou štkal!

Tvé sestry Smrti slyšel jsem hlas:
        „Chceš za mnou jít?“
Tvé dítě Spánek, v mlhách oka jas,
jak včelu v poledne slyšel jsem znít:
„Chceš, abych uleh’ k tobě?“ —
Já odvětil v též době:
        „Tvým nechci být!“

Až budeš mrtev, přijde Smrt v spěch
        a záhy dost, jak víš,
a Spánek, před ním dáš-li se v běh,
z nich žádného nechci já číš.
Jen od tebe mír, Noci drahá!
Ó rychle spěj, proč tvůj let váhá?
        Přijď, ó přijď již!

Confirmed with SHELLEY, P. B. Výbor lyriky, translated by Jaroslav Vrchlický, Praha: J. Otto, 1901, pages 103-104.


Text Authorship:

  • by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912), "Noci", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "To night"
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-07-25
Line count: 35
Word count: 198

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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