Charles's Wain, mighty German constellation

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by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890)

Translation © by Peter Palmer

Heerwagen, mächtig Sternbild der Germanen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Heerwagen, mächtig Sternbild der Germanen, 
das du fährst mit stetig stillem Zuge 
über den Himmel [vor meinen Augen]¹ deine herrliche Bahn, 
von Osten aufgestiegen alle Nacht!
O fahre hin und kehre täglich wieder!
Sieh meinen Gleichmut und mein treues Auge,
das dir folgt so lange Jahre!
Und bin ich müde, o so nimm die Seele,
die so leicht an Wert, doch auch an üblen Willen,
nimm sie auf und lass sie mit dir reisen,
schuldlos wie ein Kind, das deine Strahlendeichsel
nicht beschwert, hinüber!
ich spähe weit, wohin wir fahren.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• O. Schoeck

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ omitted by Schoeck.

Text Authorship:

by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890) [author's text not yet checked 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 Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Heerwagen, mächtig Sternbild der Germanen", op. 47 no. 5e (1931-3) [baritone and strings (4 stringed instruments)], from Notturno: Fünf Sätze für Bariton und Streichquartett, no. 14, Zürich: Hug & Co. Musikverlage [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Peter Palmer) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2006-12-14
Line count: 13
Word count: 91

Charles's Wain, mighty German...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Charles's Wain, mighty German constellation,
forever silently traveling and tracing
your splendid course across the sky,
rising every night in the east!
O travel there and return each day!
See my calmness and my trusty eye,
following you for so many years!
And when I'm weary, o take my soul,
so slight in worth, but also in ill-will,
raise it up and let it journey with you,
innocent as a child that doesn't weigh down
your radiant shaft, to the other side!
I can descry, far off, where we are going.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2009-04-18
Line count: 13
Word count: 91