To the Queen of my Heart

Shall we roam, my love,
To the twilight grove,
When the moon is rising bright?
Oh, I'll whisper there, 
In the cool night air,
What I dare not in broad daylight!

I'll tell thee a part
Of the thoughts that start
To being when thou art nigh;
And thy beauty, more bright
Than the stars' soft light,
Shall seem as a weft from the sky.

When the pale moonbeam
On tower and stream
Sheds a flood of silver sheen,
How I love to gaze
As the cold ray strays
O'er thy face, my heart's throned queen!

Wilt thou roam with me
To the restless sea,
And linger upon the steep,
And list to the flow
Of the waves below
How they toss and roar and leap?

Those boiling waves,
And the storm that raves
At night o'er their foaming crest,
Resemble the strife
That, from earliest life,
The passions have waged in my breast.

Oh, come then, and rove
To the sea or the grove,
When the moon is rising bright,
And I'll whisper there,
In the cool night air,
What I dare not in broad daylight.

by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) , "To the Queen of my Heart"

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Frederick Delius (1862-1934) , "To the Queen of my Heart", 1891, from Three Songs, the words by Shelley, no. 3.

by Agathe Ursula Backer-Grøndahl (1847-1907) , "Til mit hjertes dronning", op. 1 (Tre Sange) no. 3, published 1872, stanzas 1-3,6. [voice and piano]
by Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) , "Til mit hjertes dronning", 1887. [tenor and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Til mit hjertes dronning

Skal vi vandre en Stund
I den dæmrende Lund,
[Mens]1 Fuldmaanen hist holder Vagt,
Jeg vil hviske, min Skat,
I den kjølige Nat,
Hvad jeg aldrig ved Dagen fik sagt.

Jeg ved Stjernenes Skjær,
Skal betro Dig en Hær
Af Tanker, som aldrig fik Ord,
Imens Nathimlens Glands,
Som en [straalende]2 Krands,
Om din luftige Skjønhed sig snor.

Og naar Maanen fra Sky
Over Marker og By
Udgyder sin sølverne Flod,
Vil mig fængsle dens Skin
Paa din Pande, din Kind,
Vil jeg knæle iløn ved din Fod.

Vil Du dele min Drøm
Ved den brusende Strøm,
Gynge med mig paa Bølgernes Top?
Lytte, Bryst imod Bryst,
Til den selsomme Røst
Som fra Dybet hæver sig op?

Ak! som Bølgernes Tog,
Naar dem Stormvinden jog,
Midt i Natten, mod knusende Kyst,
Saadan var jo den Strid
Som fra tidligste Tid
Har raset her i mit Bryst.

Lad os sværme en Stund
Da ved Sø og i Lund,
[Mens]1 Fuldmaanen hist holder Vagt!
Jeg vil hviske, min Skat!
I den kølige Nat,
Hvad jeg aldrig ved Dagen fik sagt.

by Caralis , "Til mit Hjertes Dronning", published 1869

a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) , "To the Queen of my Heart"

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Agathe Ursula Backer-Grøndahl (1847-1907) , "Til mit hjertes dronning", op. 1 (Tre Sange) no. 3, published 1872, stanzas 1-3,6. [voice and piano]
by Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) , "Til mit hjertes dronning", 1887. [tenor and piano]

Date added to the website: 2009-06-21.