Translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939) and by Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied, Prinzessin (1843 - 1916)
The dagger at my belt it dances
Language: English  after the Romanian (Română)
The dagger at my belt it dances Whene'er I dance; But when I drink the foaming wine-cup, Then it grows sad; For it is thirsty too, the dagger, It thirsts for blood! "Give, give me drink," it saith, "O Master, For if I wear no stain of crimson, The sunshine is ashamed to glitter Upon my blade. Then give, that I too may be drunken With the warm blood that flows from wounds. The maids will find thy kisses sweeter When thou hast quenched my thirst, And I shall dance, when thou art dancing, More gaily at thy belt." Did I but heed my dagger, now at night-time, I should go find thee, love. Beneath thy shift I should seek out so deftly The spot where beats thy heart, And pour the blood's red warmth out for my dagger, Because thy kiss, O love, thou has denied me, And because I for that thy kiss have thirsted, Even as the dagger thirsteth for thy blood. Then will the sunshine sparkle and be merry, Seeing thy red young blood, Yea, and the merry sunbeams, they shall dry it, Together with my tears. My tears and thy blood shall flow together, Mingling like rivers twain; And though thy blood by hot, yet can it never Be burning as my tears. Nay, but thy blood will wonder when it feeleth How burning are my tears. The dagger at my belt it dances Whene'er I dance; But when I drink the foaming wine-cup, Then it grows sad; For it is thirsty too, the dagger, It thirsts for blood!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939), "The song of the dagger", appears in The bard of the Dimbovitza : Rovmanian folk-songs collected from the peasants [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- by Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied, Prinzessin (1843 - 1916), "The song of the dagger", appears in The bard of the Dimbovitza : Rovmanian folk-songs collected from the peasants [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Romanian (Română) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "The song of the dagger", 1914 [ bass and piano or orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920), "Song of the dagger", A. 48 (1912-6), published 1984 [ medium voice (male voice) and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Thomas Dawkins
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-20
Line count: 40
Word count: 264