Die Nacht ist mir so nah bekannt,
Wir können unsre Gedanken lesen,
Wir haben dasselbe Vaterland,
Wir sind vorzeiten Geschwister gewesen.
Und abermal um eine Zeit
Da wird sie mich so ganz umfangen!
Sie nickt, sie streichelt meine Wangen
Und fragt: bist du bereit?
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 164.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La nit", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Night", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La nuit", copyright © 2017, (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: 2009-05-20
Line count: 8
Word count: 44
Night is so well known to me,
We can read each other’s thoughts,
We have the same homeland,
In times of yore we were siblings.
And once more, after a time,
[Night] shall envelop me utterly!
She nods, she caresses my cheeks
And asks: are you ready?