I would like to sleep

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by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schlafen möcht' ich

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Schlafen möcht' ich,
Der Wind wiegt mich ein,
Und die Sehnsucht singt mich zur Ruh'.
Weinen möcht' ich.
Schon die Blumen allein
Flüstern Tränen mir zu.

Sieh die Blätter:
Sie blinken im Wind
Und gaukeln Träume mir vor.
Ja und später --
Lacht wo ein Kind,
Und irgendwo hofft ein Tor.

Sehnsucht hab' ich
Wohl nach dem Glück?
Nach dem Glück.
Fragen möcht' ich:
Kommt es zurück?
Nie zurück.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, Blütenlese. Gedichte, Herausgegeben von Adolf Rauchwerger, Tel Aviv: Telaviv University [Press], 1979, page 97.

Text Authorship:

by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942), "Das Glück", written 1941, appears in Blütenlese, in Der Blütenlese Zweiter Teil, in Weisse Chrysanthemen [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 Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Das Glück", copyright © 2019 [ soprano, viola d'amore and cello ], from Blossoms, no. 6, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
by Dorothea Hofmann (b. 1961), "Schlafen möchte ich", 2019, first performed 2021 [ voice and harp ], from „So weit wie ein Stern“. Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von Selma Merbaum, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-08-07
Line count: 18
Word count: 68

I would like to sleep

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I would like to sleep,
The wind rocks me into slumber,
And yearning sings me to rest.
I would like to weep.
Even the flowers alone
Whisper tears to me.

See the leaves:
They gleam in the wind
And let dreams dance enticingly before me.
Yes, and later --
A child laughs somewhere,
And somewhere, a fool hopes.

I have a yearning,
Perhaps, for happiness?
For happiness.
I would like to ask:
Does it return?
It never returns.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Das Glück" = "Happiness"
"Schlafen möchte ich" = "I would like to sleep"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942), "Das Glück", written 1941, appears in Blütenlese, in Der Blütenlese Zweiter Teil, in Weisse Chrysanthemen
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-06-20
Line count: 18
Word count: 77