by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
I saw thee weep
Language: English
Our translations: DUT
I saw thee weep - the big bright tear Came o'er that eye of blue; And then methought it did appear A violet dropping dew -- I saw thee smile -- the sapphire's [blaze]1 Beside thee ceased to shine; It could not match the living rays That fill'd that glance of thine. As clouds from yonder sun receive A deep and mellow dye, Which scarce the shade of coming eve Can banish from the sky -- Those smiles unto the moodiest mind Their own pure joy impart; Their sunshine leaves a glow behind That lightens o'er the heart.
View original text (without footnotes)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Note: see also Bécquer's Imitación de Byron
1 in some versions, "blue"Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "I saw thee weep", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 10 [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 Adolph Martin Foerster (1854 - 1927), "I saw thee weep", op. 34 (Two songs) no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 - 1837), "I saw thee weep", published 1826 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "I saw thee weep", op. 323 (Sieben Lieder nach George Lord Byron) no. 3 (2021) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "I saw thee weep", published 1815, from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873) , "Die Weinende", appears in Israelitische Gesänge, no. 10 ; composed by Robert Schumann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , "Thränen und Lächeln", written 1820, appears in Hebräische Gesänge ; composed by M. Henle, Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ferruccio Busoni.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870) , "Ich sah die Thräne", appears in Hebräische Melodien, no. 10 ; composed by Emil Bezecný, Max Seifriz.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Ik zag je traan", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Je te vis pleurer", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 10
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 94
Ich sah die Träne
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Ich sah die Thräne gross und schwer In deines Auges Blau, Da schien es mir, als ob es wär’ Ein Veilchen, feucht von Thau. Du lächeltest: da wurde fahl Des Saphirs tiefster Schein, Nie glich er dem lebend’gen Strahl Im tiefen Auge dein. Die Wolke nimmt vom Sonnenglanz Die tiefe Färbung an, Bis kaum der Abendschatten ganz Sie noch verwischen kann. So macht dein reiner Lächelblick Selbst klar ein trüb’ Gemüth. Sein Sonnschein lässt ein Licht zurück, D’rin rein das Herz erglüht.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "I saw thee weep", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 10
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924), "Ich sah die Träne", op. 15 (Zwei Lieder nach Byron) no. 1 (1883), published 1884 [ voice and piano ], from Zwei hebräische Melodien von Lord Byron für eine Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung, no. 1, Wien, Gutmann [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Claus Temps
This text was added to the website: 2016-08-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 82