English translations of Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte, opus 2

by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927)

1. Der König in Thule  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Der König in Thule", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1 (189-?), published 1896 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es war ein König in Thule
Gar treu bis an [das]1 Grab,
Dem sterbend seine Buhle
Einen goldnen Becher gab.

Es ging ihm nichts darüber,
Er leert' ihn jeden Schmaus;
Die Augen gingen ihm über,
So oft er trank daraus.

Und als er kam zu sterben,
Zählt' er seine Städt' im Reich,
[Gönnt']2 alles [seinem]3 Erben,
Den Becher nicht zugleich.

Er saß beim Königsmahle,
Die Ritter um ihn her,
[Auf hohem]4 Vätersaale,
Dort auf dem Schloß am Meer.

Dort stand der alte Zecher,
Trank letzte Lebensgluth,
Und warf den [heil'gen]5 Becher
Hinunter in die Fluth.

Er sah ihn stürzen, trinken,
Und sinken tief ins Meer.
Die Augen täten ihm sinken;
Trank nie einen Tropfen mehr.

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Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1827, pages 187-188; and with "Faust. Ein Fragment" in Goethe's Schriften. Siebenter Band, Leipzig, bey Georg Joachim Göschen, 1790, pages 94-95. The two versions differ in stanza 5, line 3 word 3 ("heil'gen" in the first cited work, "heiligen" in the second cited work.

Note: the text was first published in a different version in Volks- und andere Lieder, mit Begleitung des Forte piano, In Musik gesetzt von Siegmund Freyherrn von Seckendorff, Dritte Sammlung. Dessau, 1782, pages 6-9; see below.

See also "Het dartele water bruiselt", a poem by Pol de Mont written to be sung to Schumann's song "Der König von Thule".

1 Lenz, Liszt: "sein"
2 Zelter: "Lies"
3 Fritze, Lenz, Liszt: "seinen"
3 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "seinen"
4 Zelter: "In hohen"
5 Rheinberger: "heiligen"

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
1. There was a King of Thule
Language: English 
There was a King of Thule,
faithful to the grave,
to whom his dying beloved
gave a golden goblet.

Nothing was more valuable to him:
he drained it in every feast;
and his eyes would overflow
whenever he drank from it.

And when he neared death,
he counted the cities of his realm
and left everything gladly to his heir -
except for the goblet.

He sat at his kingly feast,
his knights about him,
in the lofty hall of ancestors,
there in the castle by the sea.

There, the old wine-lover stood,
took a last draught of life's fire,
and hurled the sacred goblet
down into the waters.

He watched it plunge, fill up,
and sink deep into the sea.
His eyes then sank closed
and he drank not one drop more.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Line count: 24
Word count: 132

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Aus den Himmelsaugen droben  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Aus den Himmelsaugen droben", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1892 [ medium voice and piano ], published without an opus number in 1892 by Schott (Mainz); published in 1896 by Kistner (Leipzig) with an opus number
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Aus den Himmelsaugen droben
Fallen zitternd [goldne]1 Funken
Durch die Nacht, und meine Seele
Dehnt sich liebeweit und weiter.

O ihr Himmelsaugen droben!
Weint euch aus in meine Seele,
Daß von lichten Sternentränen
Überfließet meine Seele.

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1 Franz: "lichte"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
2. From heaven's eyes above
Language: English 
 From heaven's eyes above
 fall trembling sparks of light
 through the night, and my soul
 stretches itself loving-far and further.
 
 O you heavenly eyes above!
 Cry yourselves out into my soul,
 This weeping star-light
 overflows my soul.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by John H. Campbell, (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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Line count: 8
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Translation © by John H. Campbell
3. Gewitter
by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Gewitter", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3 (189-?), published 1896 [ medium voice, piano ], Leipzig, Kistner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es leuchtet die Gottheit aus heiligen Blitzen
 . . . . . . . . . .

— The rest of this text is not
currently in the database but will be
added as soon as we obtain it. —

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by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927)
3.
[Translation not yet available]
4. Wandrers Nachtlied  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Wandrers Nachtlied", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4 (189-?), published 1896 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Über allen [Gipfeln]1
Ist Ruh',
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die [Vögelein]2 schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.3

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Confirmed with Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand. Erster Band. Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. 1827, page 109; and with Goethe's Werke. Erster Band. Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. 1815, page 99.

Note: in many older editions, the spelling of the capitalized word "über" becomes "Ueber", but this is often due to the printing process and not to rules of orthography, since the lower-case version is not "ueber", so we use "Über".

See also J.D. Falk's poem Unter allen Wipfeln ist Ruh.

1 Flügel, Gaugler, Hasse, Radecke: "Wipfeln" (according to the incipits given in Hofmeister) ; further changes may exist not noted above.
2 Greith, Schubert: "Vöglein"
3 Lachner adds 
Über allen Wipfeln
Ist Ruh',
Balde
Ruhest du auch.

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
4. Over all the peaks it is peaceful
Language: English 
Over all the peaks
it is peaceful,
in all the treetops
you feel
hardly a breath of wind;
the little birds are silent in the forest...
only wait - soon
you will rest as well.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


Based on:

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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 34

Translation © by Emily Ezust
5. Gebet  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Gebet", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1892 [ medium voice and piano ], published without an opus number in 1892 by Schott (Mainz); published in 1896 by Kistner (Leipzig) with an opus number
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die du über die Sterne weg
  Mit der geleerten Schale
[Aufschwebst]1, um sie [am ew'gen Born]2
  [Eilig]3 wieder zu füllen:
Einmal schwenke sie noch, o Glück,
  Einmal, lächelnde Göttin!
Sieh, ein einziger Tropfen hängt
  Noch verloren am Rande,
Und der einzige Tropfen genügt,
  Eine himmlische Seele,
Die hier unten in Schmerz erstarrt,
  Wieder in Wonne zu lösen.
Ach! sie weint dir [süßeren]4 Dank,
  Als die [anderen]5 alle,
Die du glücklich und reich gemacht;
  Laß ihn fallen, den Tropfen!

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Confirmed with Hebbels Werke, Erster Teil, Gedichte -- Mutter und Kind, herausgegeben und mit einem Lebensbild versehen von Theodor Poppe, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., [1908], pages 127-128

1 Brückler: "Aufsteigst"
2 Brückler: "aus ewigem Borne"
3 Brückler: "Eiligst"
4 Brückler: "süßern", Pfitzner, Reger: "süßrern"
5 Brückler: "andern"; Pfitzner, Reger: "andren"

by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
5. Prayer
Language: English 
You who [float]1 upward beyond the stars
  With the emptied bowl,
In order to fill it anew [with haste]2:
  [At]3 the eternal wellspring,
Shake it just once more, oh Fortune,
  Once more, smiling goddess!
Lo, a single droplet still hangs
  Lost along the rim.
And that single droplet suffices
  To release one heavenly soul,
Which down here is frozen in anguish,
  [To release it] once more into joy.
Ah, it shall weep sweeter gratitude to you
  Than all the other souls
Whom you have made happy and wealthy;
  Let it fall, the droplet!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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: 

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Translations of title(s):
"Gebet an die Glücksgöttin" = "Prayer to the goddess of good fortune"
"Gebet" = "Prayer"

1 Brückler: "rise"
2 Brückler: "with great haste"
3 Brückler: "from"


This text was added to the website: 2017-02-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 96

Translation © by Sharon Krebs