Veille | Sombre est la nuit

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Vigil

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE GER

Dark is the night,
The fire burns faint and low,
Hours -- days -- years,
Into grey ashes go;
I strive to read,
But sombre is the glow. 

Thumbed are the pages,
And the print is small;
Mocking the winds
That from the darkness call;
Feeble the fire that lends
Its light withal. 

O ghost, draw nearer;
Let thy shadowy hair
Blot out the pages
That we cannot share;
Be ours the one last leaf
By Fate left bare! 

Let's Finis scrawl,
And then Life's book put by;
Turn each to each
In all simplicity:
Ere the last flame is gone
To warm us by.

Text Authorship:

by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Vigil", appears in Motley and Other Poems, first published 1918 [author's text not yet checked 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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Vigil", published 1969 [ voice and piano ], from Tit for tat, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Vetlla", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Veille", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wache", copyright © 2013, (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: 24
Word count: 103

Veille

Language: French (Français) after the English

Sombre est la nuit,
Le feu brûle faiblement, doucement,
Après des heures, des jours, des années,
Se transforme en cendres grises ;
Je m'efforce de lire,
Mais la lueur est sombre.

Les pages sont écornées
Et c'est écrit petit ;
Les vents moqueurs
Appellent depuis l'obscurité ;
Le feu faible qui accorde
En outre sa lumière.

Ô esprit, viens plus près ;
Que ta chevelure vague
Masque les pages
Que nous ne pouvons pas partager ;
Que notre dernière page soit
Laissée vide par le destin !

Gribouillons Fin,
Et puis mettons de côté le livre de la vie ;
Tournons-nous l'un vers l'autre
En toute simplicité :
Avant que ne parte la dernière flamme
Pour nous réchauffer.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2011 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in English by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Vigil", appears in Motley and Other Poems, first published 1918
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 110