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

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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 at the fisherman's house

 We sat at the fisherman's house,
 and gazed out at the sea;
 the evening mists arrived,
 and climbed into the heights.

 At the lighthouse the lights were
 gradually lit,
 and in the far-off distance
 was discovered yet another ship.

 We spoke of storms and shipwrecks,
 of the seaman and how he lives,
 and of hovering between sky and water,
 between fear and joy.

 We spoke of far-off coasts,
 of the South and of the North,
 and of the odd people
 and odd customs there.

 At the Ganges, it is fragrant and shimmering:
 and giant trees bloom there,
 and fair, quiet people
 kneel before lotus flowers.

 In Lapland there are dirty people,
 flat-headed, broad-mouthed, small;
 they crouch around the fire and bake
 fish, and squeak and scream.

 The maidens listened earnestly,
 and finally no one spoke any more;
 The ship was no longer visible,
 for it was now much too dark.

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Authorship

• Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

  Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

  Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
  from the LiederNet Archive -- http://www.lieder.net/

  For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
  
  
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• 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.

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