For the final good night, I

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by Franz Ferdinand, Freiherr von Dingelstedt (1814 - 1881)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ich habe zur letzten guten Nacht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ich habe zur letzten guten Nacht
Dein liebes Bild geküßt,
Da war mir, als hätte der Mund gelacht,
Das Auge mich freundlich begrüßt.

Die Züge lebten in warmem Glanz,
Durchhaucht von athmendem Wehn,
Du warst es selbst, du warst es ganz,
Als sey ein Wunder geschehn.

Da hab' ich zur letzten guten Nacht
Noch einmal dein Bild geküßt,
Mir ist, als hättest du gelacht
Und als ob ich weinen müßt!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Koessler

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Franz Dingelstedt, Stuttgart und Tübingen: J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1845. Appears in Heimath. 1838 - 1841, in 3. Erste Leiden, no. 6, page 53. Note: Schnabel's score has a typo in stanza 1, line 3, word 7 ("Mond" instead of "Mund").

Text Authorship:

by Franz Ferdinand, Freiherr von Dingelstedt (1814 - 1881), no title, appears in Gedichte [1845], in 1. Heimath. 1838-1841, in 3. Erste Leiden, no. 6 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Melanie Trumbull , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 80

For the final good night, I

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

For the final good night, I 
Kissed your dear image,
Thereupon it seemed to me as if your lips had smiled,
As if your eyes had greeted me amicably.

The lineaments were alive in a warm radiance,
A breathful wind blew gently through it,
It was you yourself, it was completely you,
As if a miracle had occurred.

Thereupon for the final good night, I 
Once more kissed your dear image,
It seems to me, as if you had smiled
And as if I must weep!

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Translations of title(s):
"Das Bild" = "The image"
"Dein Bild" = "Your image"
"Dein Bildniss" = "Your image"
"Dein liebes Bild" = "Your dear image"
"Ich habe zur letzten guten Nacht" = "I, for the final good night"
"Ich hab' zur letzten guten Nacht" = "I, for the final good night"
"Stiller Abend" = "Quiet evening"
"Stiller Abschied" = "Quiet farewell"
"Traum" = "Dream"
"Zur letzten guten Nacht" = "For the final good night"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Franz Ferdinand, Freiherr von Dingelstedt (1814 - 1881), no title, appears in Gedichte [1845], in 1. Heimath. 1838-1841, in 3. Erste Leiden, no. 6
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This text was added to the website: 2022-10-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 91