Wir saßen am Fischerhause

Wir saßen am Fischerhause,
Und schauten nach der See;
Die Abendnebel kamen,
Und stiegen in die Höh'.

Im Leuchtturm wurden die Lichter
Allmählich angesteckt,
Und in der weiten Ferne
Ward noch ein Schiff entdeckt.

Wir sprachen von Sturm und Schiffbruch,
Vom Seemann, und wie er lebt,
Und zwischen Himmel und Wasser,
Und Angst und Freude schwebt.

Wir sprachen von fernen Küsten,
Vom Süden und vom Nord,
Und von den seltsamen Menschen
Und seltsamen Sitten dort.

Am Ganges duftet's und leuchtet's,
Und Riesenbäume blühn,
Und schöne, stille Menschen
Vor Lotosblumen knien.

In Lappland sind schmutzige Leute,
Plattköpfig, breitmäulig, klein;
Sie kauern ums Feuer und backen
Sich Fische, und quäken und schrein.

Die Mädchen horchten ernsthaft,
Und endlich sprach niemand mehr;
Das Schiff war nicht mehr sichtbar,
Es dunkelte gar zu sehr.

Translation(s): DUT ENG ENG ENG FRE FRE ITA

List of language codes

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Authorship

• by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 7 [ author's text checked 1 time]

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

• by Christian Bruhn (b. 1934), "Wir saßen am Fischerhaus" [voice and orchestra], from Heine-Lieder, no. 3. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Am Leuchtturm", op. 60 (Drei Heine-Lieder) no. 2 (1929), published 1933. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Detlef Cordes , "Am Fischerhaus", stanzas 1-4. [voice and guitar] [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Don Forsythe (b. 1932), "Am Fischerhause", published c2004. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Alfred Reisenauer (1863 - 1907), "Wir saßen am Fischerhause", published 1899 [voice and piano], from Sechs Gedichte für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 3, Berlin, Fürstner [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Abends am Strand", op. 45 (Romanzen und Balladen für Singstimme und Klavier (Heft 1)) no. 3 (1840), published 1844 [voice and piano], Leipzig, Whistling [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Am Meere", op. 22 (Abendbilder : Gedichte aus Heine's "Reisebildern") no. 2, published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 7. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist DUT FRE ITA FRE by Walter Bell.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    
• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Dufresne (d. 1953) DUT ENG ENG ITA ENG by Tibor Harsányi.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "'s Avonds aan het strand", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "We sat at the fisherman's house", copyright ©
• ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Presso la casa del pescatore", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project, and I have been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated.      - Emily Ezust

We sat in the fisher's cabin

We sat in the fisher's cabin,
   Looking out upon the sea.
Then came the mists of evening,
   Ascending silently. 

The lights began in the lighthouse
   One after one to burn,
And on the far horizon
   A ship we could still discern. 

We spake of storm and shipwreck,
   The sailor and how he thrives,
And how betwixt heaven and ocean,
   And joy and sorrow he strives. 

We spake of distant countries,
   South, North, and everywhere,
And of the curious people,
   And curious customs there; 

The fragrance and light of the Ganges,
   That giant-trees embower,
Where a beautiful tranquil people
   Kneel to the lotus flower; 

Of the unclean folk in Lapland,
   Broad-mouthed and flat-headed and small,
Who cower upon the hearthstone,
   Bake fish, and cackle and squall. 

The maidens listen gravely,
   Then never a word was said,
The ship we could see no longer;
   It was far too dark o'erhead.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

• by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887), appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881 [ author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 7 DUT FRE ITA FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Christian Bruhn, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Detlef Cordes, Don Forsythe, Alfred Reisenauer, Robert Schumann, Johann Vesque von Püttlingen. Go to the text.

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

[ None yet in the database ]

Text added to the website: 2008-04-18.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:02:40
Line count: 28
Word count: 148