by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Erwachen
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
Stille Zeit kam träg geschlichen,
Alle Stürme schwiegen tief,
Alles Leid war ganz verblichen
Und die Seele schlief.

Aber heut bin ich erwacht
Tief in Finsternissen,
Ringsum dunkelte die Nacht.
Jäh emporgerissen
Aus der langen, lahmen Rast
Schlug mein Herz in banger Hast,
Hell aus langgeheilten Wunden
Brannten der Vergangenheit
Leidenschaften neu entbunden.
Seele bist du nun erwacht?
Ist zu Ende Schlaf und Ruh?
Schau, sie steht zu neuem Leid,
Neuen Stürmen froh entschlossen
Und sie zittert, und sie lacht
Allen Himmelssternen zu,
Ihren seligen Genossen.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, 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 144.


Text 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) , "Despertar", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Awakening", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Réveil", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-10-21
Line count: 20
Word count: 86

Awakening
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
The quiet time came creeping along languidly,
All storms had fallen into a deep silence,
All sorrow had completely faded
And the soul slept.

But today I awoke
Deep in blackness,
The night was darkening all around.
Abruptly torn from out
The long, paralysing rest,
My heart pounded in anxious haste,
Flamingly from long-healed wounds
Burned the passions
Of the past, anew unleashed.
Soul, have you now awakened?
Is sleep and rest at an end?
See, [the soul] stands joyfully
Determined to [meet] new suffering and new storms
And it trembles and it laughs
Up at all the stars of heaven,
Its blessed comrades.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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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This text was added to the website: 2014-10-21
Line count: 20
Word count: 104