Säg, hvarför gifva vi de kval [åt]1 världen vi bort dölja? Vår jord är ju en jämmerdal, den sorger öfverhölja. Det därför är, att skaldens skrik, dem hjärtats sår frambringa, skall som en vemodsljuf musik till eftervärlden klinga; och därför svanen sjunga skall med döden under vingen: hans välljud tjusar världen all, hans smärta kväljer ingen.
Confirmed with Ernst Josephson, Svarta Rosor och Gula, C. & E. Gernandts Förlags Aktiebolag, Stockholm, 1901, p. 109.
1 Rängstrom: "till"Note: Kilpinen uses the spelling "Säg, varför giva vi de kval" in the first line.
Text Authorship:
- by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Svanesång", written 1882, appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula [author's text checked 2 times 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 Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Svanesång", op. 28 no. 4 (1922), published 1924 [ voice and piano ], from Fantasi och verklighet II, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947), "Svanesång", 1911 [ voice and piano ], from Fyra dikter = Vier Gedichte, no. 4, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation possibly by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947); composed by Ture Rangström.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Joutsenlaulu", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le chant du cygne", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 57
Warum denn bringen wir der Welt die Qual, die zu verhüllen? Die Erd' ist ja ein Jammertal, das Sorgen überfüllen. Es ist darum: des Dichters Pein, sein Schmerz soll es vollbringen, dass süss' Getön zerspreng' sein Herz, um frei der Welt zu klingen; darum denn singen soll der Schwan, den Tod tief in dem Herzen: sein Wohllaut bringt nur süsse Not, sein Schmerz bringt keine Schmerzen.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation possibly by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Svanesång", written 1882, appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947), "Schwanengesang", 1911 [voice and piano], from Fyra dikter = Vier Gedichte, no. 4, also set in Swedish (Svenska) [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 66