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

Bei Spezia
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
In großen Takten singt das Meer,
Der schwüle Westwind heult und lacht,
Sturmwolken jagen schwarz und schwer;
Man sieht sie nicht, es ist zu nacht.

Mir aber scheint: so tot und bang,
So ohne Trost und Sternegold
Durch schwüle Nacht und Sturmgesang
Sei auch mein Leben hingerollt.

Und doch ist keine Nacht so schwer
Und so voll Dunkels keine Fahrt,
Der nicht vom nahen Morgen her
Des Lichtes süße Ahnung ward.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., 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, pages 116-117.


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) , "A La Spezia", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Near La Spezia", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "À La Spezia", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-05-25
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Near La Spezia
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
The sea sings in vast rhythms,
The humid westwind howls and laughs,
Storm-clouds scud, black and heavy;
One does not see them, it is night.

But it seems to me: so dead and anxious,
So without comfort and star-gold
Through humid night and the singing of the storm,
My life, too, rolled past.

And yet no night is so heavy,
And no journey so full of darkness,
That from the near morning there does not
Come to it the sweet premonition of light.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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: 2017-02-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 83