Sleep | The coffin of night holds me pillowed in darkness

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by Hanns Johst (1890 - 1978)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schlaf

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Der Sarg der Nacht hält mich in Finsternis gebettet,
In der mein Herz ein fremdes Dasein schlägt.
Das Herz hat sich in meine Brust gerettet,
Die ihre Hände schon wie Erde trägt.

Von allen Dingen bin ich ganz verwaist,
Selbst mein Gefühl tritt mir versteint entgegen.
Ich fühle, wie mit dumpfen Schlägen
Die Ewigkeit in der Verwesung kreist . . .

Confirmed with Hanns Johst, Lieder der Sehnsucht, München: Albert Langen, 1924, page 41.

Text Authorship:

by Hanns Johst (1890 - 1978), "Schlaf" [author's text checked 1 time 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 Hans Erich Apostel (1901 - 1972), "Schlaf", op. 3 no. 5, published 1931 [voice and piano], Universal Edition, Wien & Leipzig, Nr. 5306 [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Sleep", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-09-26
Line count: 8
Word count: 61

Sleep

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The coffin of night holds me pillowed in darkness,
In which my heart pulses a foreign existence.
The heart has sought salvation in my breast,
Which already carries its hands like earth.

I have been utterly abandoned by all things;
Even my feelings confront me as if turned to stone.
I feel how with muted throbs
Eternity wheels within decay . . .

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 Hanns Johst (1890 - 1978), "Schlaf"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-09-26
Line count: 8
Word count: 63