Songs

Var det en dröm?

by Jean Sibelius

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Text & Translation

Var det en dröm?
Swedish source: Josef Julius Wecksell

Var det en dröm, att ljuvt en gång
jag var ditt hjärtas vän?
Jag minns det som en tystnad sång,
då strängen darrar än.

Jag minns en törnros av dig skänkt,
en blick så blyg och öm;
jag minns en avskedstår, som blänkt.
Var allt, var allt en dröm?

En dröm lik sippans liv så kort
uti en vårgrön ängd,
vars fägring hastigt vissnar bort
för nya blommors mängd.

Men mången natt jag hör en röst
vid bittra tårars ström:
göm djupt dess minne i ditt bröst,
det var din bästa dröm!

Was it a dream?
English translation © Oxford Song

Was it a dream, that once so sweetly
I was your heart's beloved friend?
I remember it like a silent song,
whose melody still lingers.

I remember a wild rose, given by you,
a glance so shy and tender;
I remember a farewell tear that shone.
Was it all, was it all a dream?

A dream as brief as the wildflower's life
in a spring-green meadow,
whose beauty quickly withers away
within an ocean of new flowers.

Yet many a night I hear a voice
beside the stream of bitter tears:
hide its memory deep within your breast,
it was your finest dream!

Var det en dröm?
Swedish source: Josef Julius Wecksell

Was it a dream?
English source: Oxford Song

Var det en dröm, att ljuvt en gång
Was it a dream, that once so sweetly
jag var ditt hjärtas vän?
I was your heart's beloved friend?
Jag minns det som en tystnad sång,
I remember it like a silent song,
då strängen darrar än.
whose melody still lingers.

Jag minns en törnros av dig skänkt,
I remember a wild rose, given by you,
en blick så blyg och öm;
a glance so shy and tender;
jag minns en avskedstår, som blänkt.
I remember a farewell tear that shone.
Var allt, var allt en dröm?
Was it all, was it all a dream?

En dröm lik sippans liv så kort
A dream as brief as the wildflower's life
uti en vårgrön ängd,
in a spring-green meadow,
vars fägring hastigt vissnar bort
whose beauty quickly withers away
för nya blommors mängd.
within an ocean of new flowers.

Men mången natt jag hör en röst
Yet many a night I hear a voice
vid bittra tårars ström:
beside the stream of bitter tears:
göm djupt dess minne i ditt bröst,
hide its memory deep within your breast,
det var din bästa dröm!
it was your finest dream!

Composer

Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is best known for his set of seven symphonies, but he also composed over a hundred songs for voice and piano, and various pieces inspired by nature…

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