Night song | Benignly there on high

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by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Nachtlied

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Milde dort oben 
Manch helles Sternlein lacht; 
Der sie aus Gold gewoben, 
Nimmt mild auch dein in Acht. 

  Stille! nun steiget 
Herab der Engel dein, 
Und lächelnd dir es zeiget, 
Wie's wird im Himmel sein. 

  Wachst du am Morgen 
Dann auf aus selgem Traum, 
Blick wieder ohne Sorgen 
Hinauf zum Himmelssaum!

  Siehe! noch blinket
Der Morgenstern so klar! 
Dein Engel scheidend winket:
Einst wird dein Traum noch wahr!

Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, pages 117-118.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Nachtlied", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 133 [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 Eduard Köllner (1839 - 1891), "Nachtlied", op. 58 (Drei Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 3, published 1883 [ ttbb chorus ], Leipzig: Siegel [sung text not yet checked]
by Reinhold Reich (1842 - 1900), "Nachtlied", op. 37 (Für's Haus. Kleine Lieder für zwei Singstimmen mit einfacher Pianoforte Begleitung) no. 6, published 1891 [ vocal duet and piano ], Langensalza: Beyer & Söhne [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Night song", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-09-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 69

Night song

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Benignly there on high
Many a bright star smiles;
He who wove [the stars] out of gold
Benignly watches out for you as well.

  Be still! now 
Your angel descends,
And smilingly shows you
What it shall be like in Heaven.

  When in the morning you then waken 
From your blissful dream,
Then gaze again without anxiety
Up to the heavens’ edge!

  Lo! the morning star
Still twinkles so clearly!
Your angel waves [to you] in parting:
Someday your dream shall come true!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Nachtlied", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 133
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-10-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 84