Die Schiffende

Sie wankt dahin; die Abendwinde spielen,
  Ihr Apfelblüten zu;
Die Vögelein, so ihre [Gottheit]1 fühlen,
  Erwachen aus der Ruh.

Wie ihr Gewand im Mondenglanze flittert,
  Und ihres Busens Flor!
Sie wankt dahin; der helle Vollmond zittert
  Aus jeder Well' hervor.

Da rauscht der Kahn durch hangende Gesträuche,
  Birgt mir das Engelbild, 
Schwankt izt hervor, tanzt wieder auf dem Teiche, 
  Den ihre Gottheit füllt.

Verdeckt mir nicht, ihr hangenden Gesträuche,
  Ihr lächelndes Gesicht;
Sie tanzt so schön auf ihrem Silberteiche:
  Ihr Erlen, bergt sie nicht.

Weht, Winde, weht, o flügelt sie, ihr Winde,
  An diese Laub' heran,
Daß ich mich ihr im Schauer dieser Linde
  [Zu Füssen werfen]3 kann.

Translation(s): DUT ENG FRE

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Ludewig Heinrich Christoph Hölty. Besorgt durch seine Freunde Friederich Leopold Grafen zu Stolberg und Johann Heinrich Voß. Carlsruhe, bey Christian Gottlieb Schmieder, 1784, pages 170-171; and with Poetische Blumenlese Auf das Jahr 1775. Göttingen und Gotha bey Johann Christian Dieterich, pages 85-86.

Authorship

• by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776), "Die Schiffende", written 1774, first published 1775 [ author's text checked 2 times]

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

• by Carl Czerny (1791 - 1857), "Die Schiffende", op. 48 [voice and piano], note: the poet is given in various places as "Holz" or "Holtz", but Challier has this setting listed with the Hölty poem [ sung text not verified ]
• by Friedrich, Freiherr von Dalberg (1760 - 1812), "Die Schiffende", c1789. [ sung text not verified ]
• by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Die Schiffende", op. 37 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5, published 1852 [voice and piano], Leipzig, Siegel [ sung text not verified ]
• by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Die Schiffende", 1827, stanzas 1-2,4-5. [ sung text verified 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Schiffende", D. 990D, note: Schubert's setting is lost [ sung text not verified ]

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

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De varende", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The floating vision", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (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

The floating vision

She slips by, the evening winds playfully blow
apple blossoms at her;
the little birds, sensing she is near,
awaken from their rest.

How her robe gleams in the moonlight,
and the gauze of her bosom!
She slips by, the bright full moon trembles 
from every wave.

The boat sweeps through hanging bushes,
hiding the angelic image from me;
swinging forward now, dancing back again toward the water,
replete with her divinity.

Hanging bushes, do not hide from me
her smiling face;
she dances so beautifully on her silver pond;
You alders, conceal her not!

Blow, winds, blow; o give her wings, you winds,
bring her to this grove,
so that, beneath this sheltering linden tree,
I can blissfully be near her.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

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 Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776), "Die Schiffende", written 1774, first published 1775 DUT FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Carl Czerny, Friedrich, Freiherr von Dalberg, Moritz Hauptmann, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Franz Peter Schubert. Go to the text.

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