O say! what is that thing call'd light, Which I must ne'er enjoy? What are the blessings of the sight? O tell your poor blind boy! You talk of wond'rous things you see, You say the sun shines bright; I feel him warm, but how can he Or make it day or night. My day or night myself I make, Whene'er I sleep or play; And could I ever keep awake, With me 'twere always day. With heavy sighs I often hear You mourn my hapless woe; But sure with patience I can bear A loss I ne'er can know. Then let not what I cannot have My cheer of mind destroy; Whilst thus I sing, I am a king, Although a poor blind boy.
Confirmed with Specimens of the British Poets; with biographical and critical notices, and an essay on English poetry. By Thomas Campbell. In seven volumes. Vol. V. Sewell, 1726, to Carey, 1763. London: John Murray, Albemarle-Street. 1819, page 324; and with A Select Collection of English Songs. In three volumes. Volume the second. London: Printed for J. Johnson in St. Pauls Church-yard. MDCCLXXXIII. [1783], pages 104-105.
Text Authorship:
- by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy" [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 William Martin Yeates Hurlstone (1876 - 1906), "The blind boy", 1906, published 1907, first performed 1906 [ voice and piano ], London, Novello: Avison Edition [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta (1797 - 1855) , "Der blinde Knabe" ; composed by Franz Peter Schubert.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El noi cec", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 125
O sagt, ihr Lieben, mir einmal, Welch Ding ist's, Licht genannt? Was sind des Sehens Freuden all', Die niemals ich gekannt? Die Sonne, die so hell ihr seht, Mir Armen scheint sie nie; Ihr sagt, sie auf und nieder geht, Ich weiß nicht wann, noch wie. Ich mach' mir selbst so Tag [wie]1 Nacht, Dieweil ich schlaf' und spiel', Mein inn'res Leben schön mir lacht, Ich hab' der Freuden viel. Zwar kenn' ich nicht, was euch erfreut, Doch drückt mich keine Schuld, D'rum freu' ich mich in meinem Leid, Und trag' es mit Geduld. Ich bin so glücklich, bin so reich Mit dem, was Gott mir gab, Bin wie ein König froh, obgleich Ein armer blinder Knab'.
Note: Schubert received Craigher's poem in handwritten form. Craigher did not include it in the printed edition of his poems.
1 Schubert (first print 1827 and Alte Gesamtausgabe): "und"Text Authorship:
- by Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta (1797 - 1855), "Der blinde Knabe"
Based on:
- a text in English by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der blinde Knabe", op. 101 no. 2, D 833 (1825), published 1827, first performed 1829 [ voice, piano ], attachment to Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De blinde jongen", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "The blind lad", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le garçon aveugle", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il fanciullo cieco", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 117