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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

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

Sommers Ende
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Gleichtönig, leis und klagend rinnt
Den lauen Abend lang der Regen,
Hinweinend wie ein müdes Kind
Der nahen Mitternacht entgegen.

Der Sommer, seiner Feste müd,
Hält seinen Kranz in welken Händen
Und wirft ihn weg -- er ist verblüht --
Und neigt sich bang und will verenden.

Auch unsre Liebe war ein Kranz
Auflodernd heißer Sommerfeste,
Nun löst sich sacht der letzte Tanz,
Der Regen stürzt, es fliehn die Gäste.

Und eh wir der verwelkten Pracht
Und der erloschenen Glut uns schämen,
Laß uns in dieser ernsten Nacht
Von unsrer Liebe Abschied nehmen.

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, page 161.


Text Authorship:

  • by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Sommers Ende", subtitle: "(1904)", written 1904, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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

  • by Rudolf Brömel (b. 1877), "Sommers Ende", published 1945-8 [ voice and piano ], from Hermann Hesse Lieder, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Ferdinand Gerhardt, jun. (1888 - 1985), "Sommers Ende" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Hans Kracke (1910 - 1989), "Sommers Ende", 1947 [ voice and piano ], from Trost der Nacht - Liederzyklus nach neun Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The end of summer", subtitle: "(1904)", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Fin d'été", copyright © 2013, (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: 2009-05-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 91

The end of summer
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
With an even sound, quietly and lamentingly
The rain falls throughout the warm evening,
Weeping its way like a tired child
Toward the midnight near at hand.

Summer, weary of its festivals,
Holds its wreath in limp hands
And tosses it away -- it has wilted
And bows down anxiously and wishes to die.

Our love, too, was a wreath
That flared up in torrid summer festivals,
Now the last dance gently drifts asunder,
The rain pours down, the guests flee.

And before we become ashamed of
The wilted glory and the extinguished glow,
Let us, in this solemn night,
Take farewell of our love.

Subtitle: "(1904)"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Sommers Ende", subtitle: "(1904)", written 1904, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-06-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 104

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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