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Wenn die Uhren so nah
wie im eigenen Herzen schlagen,
und die Dinge mit zagen
Stimmen sich fragen:
Bist du da? - :
Dann bin ich nicht der, der am Morgen erwacht,
einen Namen schenkt mir die Nacht,
den keiner, den ich am Tage sprach,
ohne tiefes Fürchten erführe -
Jede Türe
in mir gibt nach...
Und da weiß ich, daß nichts vergeht,
keine Geste und kein Gebet
(dazu sind die Dinge zu schwer) -
meine ganze Kindheit steht
immer um mich her.
Niemals bin ich allein.
Viele, die vor mir lebten
und fort von mir strebten,
webten,
webten
an meinem Sein.
Und setz ich mich zu dir her
und sage dir leise: Ich litt -
hörst du?
Wer weiß wer
murmelt es mit.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Werke, kommentierte Ausgabe in vier Bänden, Band 1 Gedichte 1895 bis 1910, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel und Ulrich Fülleborn, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1996, page 109.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Wenn die Uhren so nah wie eigenen Herzen schlagen", written 1898, appears in Frühe Gedichte, in Mir zur Feier [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 Matthias Kern , "Wenn die Uhren so nah" [ chorus ], from Chormusik nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "Wenn die Uhren so nah", op. 55 no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Vincenzo Errante (1890 - 1951) , no title, written 1929 ; composed by Renzo Rossellini.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-16
Line count: 27
Word count: 119
When the clocks strike as close
as if they were within your own heart,
and with hesitant voices
things ask each other:
Are you there? - :
Then I am not he who awoke in the morning,
the night had given me the gift of a name,
[a name] that no one with whom I spoke during the day
would learn without a profound fear --
Every door
within me yields . . .
And then I know, that nothing passes away,
no gesture and no prayer
(these things are too weighty for that) -
my entire childhood stands
about me always.
Never am I alone.
Many who lived before me
and strove to leave me,
wove,
wove
at my being.
And I sit down beside you
and quietly say to you: I suffered -
do you hear?
Who knows who
murmurs along with me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translated titles:
Wenn die Uhren so nah wie eigenen Herzen schlagen" = "When the clocks strike as closely as if they were within your own heart"
"Wenn die Uhren so nah" = When the clocks as closely
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Wenn die Uhren so nah wie eigenen Herzen schlagen", written 1898, appears in Frühe Gedichte, in Mir zur Feier
This text was added to the website: 2013-11-18
Line count: 27
Word count: 140