by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850)
Translation © by Peter Palmer

Niagara
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Klar und wie die Jugend heiter,
Und wie murmelnd süßen Traum,
Zieht der Niagara weiter
An des Urwalds grünem Saum;

Zieht dahin im sanften Flusse,
Daß er noch des Waldes Pracht
Widerstrahlt mit froher Muße
Und die Sterne stiller Nacht.

Also sanft die Wellen gleiten,
Daß der Wandrer ungestört
Und erstaunt die meilenweiten
Katarakte rauschen hört.

Wo des Niagara Bahnen
Näher ziehn dem Katarakt,
Hat den Strom ein wildes Ahnen
Plötzlich seines Falls gepackt.

Erd und Himmels unbekümmert
Eilt er jetzt im tollen Zug,
Hat ihr schönes Bild zertrümmert,
Das er erst so freundlich trug.

Die Stromschnellen stürzen, schießen,
Donnern fort im wilden Drang,
Wie von Sehnsucht hingerissen
Nach dem großen Untergang.

Den der Wandrer fern vernommen,
Niagaras tiefen Fall
Hört er nicht, herangekommen,
Weil zu laut der Wogenschall.

Und so mag vergebens lauschen,
Wer dem Sturze näher geht;
Doch die Zukunft hörte rauschen
In der Ferne der Prophet.

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):

  • ENG English (Peter Palmer) , "Niagara", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Niagara", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-09-28
Line count: 32
Word count: 149

Niagara
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Clear and cheerful as youth,
And as though murmuring a sweet dream,
The Niagara travels onward
At the green edge of the primeval forest.

Travels onward, gently flowing,
Still happy and leisurely,
Reflecting the splendor of the forest
And the stars of a silent night.

So the waves glide gently on,
So that the wanderer is undisturbed
And surprised to hear the rushing
Cataracts from miles away.

Where the Niagara's courses
Draw nearer to the cataract
The stream is suddenly seized
By a wild notion of its downfall.

Disregarding heaven and earth,
It now hastens at a frantic rate,
Having wrecked the lovely image
That at first it bore so amiably.

The rapids hurtle, shoot,
And thunder forth, pressing wildly,
As though gripped by a yearning
For the great going under.

What the wanderer's ear caught from afar,
Niagara's deep waterfall,
He cannot hear on arriving there
Because the roar of the waves is too loud.

And so he who comes closer to the cascade
May listen out to no avail;
Yet a prophet was able to hear
The future rushing in the distance.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Peter Palmer, (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: 

Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-23
Line count: 32
Word count: 184