English translations of Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel, opus 16

by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931)

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1. Nachtlied
 (Sung text)
by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Nachtlied", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 1 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Quellende, schwellende Nacht,
Voll von Lichtern und Sternen:
In den ewigen Fernen,
Sage, was ist da erwacht?

Herz in der Brust wird beengt;
Steigendes, neigendes Leben,
Riesenhaft fühle ich's weben,
Welches das meine verdrängt.

Schlaf, da nahst du dich leis',
Wie dem Kinde die Amme,
Und um die dürftige Flamme
Ziehst du den schützenden Kreis.

Text Authorship:

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by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
1. Night song
Language: English 
Flowing, swelling night,
full of lights and stars:
in the endless distances,
speak: what has awakened out there?

The heart in my breast is crowded
with the rise and fall of life;
I feel it weaving about me, an immense thing
that squeezes mine out.

Sleep, you approach gently
as the nurse approaches a child;
and about this paltry flame
you form a protective circle.

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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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 65

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Ich und Du
 (Sung text)
by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Ich und Du", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 2 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wir träumten von einander
  Und sind davon erwacht,
Wir leben, um uns zu lieben,
  Und sinken zurück in die Nacht.

Du tratst aus meinem Traume,
  Aus deinem trat ich hervor,
Wir sterben, wenn sich Eines
  Im Andern ganz verlor.

Auf einer Lilie zittern
  Zwei Tropfen, rein und rund,
Zerfließen in Eins und rollen
  Hinab in des Kelches Grund.

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by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
2. I and you
Language: English 
 We dreamed of each other
 and it awakened us;
 we live to love each other
 and drop back into the night.
 
 You stepped from my dream
 and I stepped from yours.
 We will die when one of us
 has become entirely lost in the other's.
 
 On a lily vibrate
 two drops, pure and round;
 they melt into one and roll
 down into the bottom of the chalice.

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: 12
Word count: 68

Translation © by Emily Ezust
3. Gebet
 (Sung text)
by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Gebet", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 3 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die du über die Sterne weg
  Mit der geleerten Schale
Aufschwebst, um sie am ew'gen Born
  Eilig 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 Dank,
  Als die anderen alle,
Die du glücklich und reich gemacht;
  Laß ihn fallen, den Tropfen!

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by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
3. 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.
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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
4. Abendgefühl
 (Sung text)
by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Abendgefühl", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 4 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Friedlich bekämpfen
  Nacht sich und Tag.
Wie das zu dämpfen,
  Wie das zu lösen vermag!

Der mich bedrückte,
  Schläfst du schon, Schmerz?
Was mich beglückte
  Sage, was war's doch, mein Herz?

Freude wie Kummer,
  Fühl' ich, zerrann,
Aber den Schlummer
  Führten sie leise heran.

Und im Entschweben,
  Immer empor,
Kommt mir das Leben
  Ganz, wie ein Schlummerlied vor.

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by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
4. Peacefully does night struggle with day
Language: English 
 Peacefully does night
 struggle with the day:
 how to muffle it,
 how to dissolve it.
 
 That which depressed me,
 are you already asleep, o Pain?
 That which made me happy,
 say, what was it, my heart?
 
 Joy, like anguish,
 I feel has melted away,
 but they have gently
 invoked slumber instead.
 
 And as I float away,
 ever skyward,
 it occurs to me that life
 is just like a lullaby.

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: 16
Word count: 70

Translation © by Emily Ezust
5. Spuk
 (Sung text)
by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Spuk", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 5 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ich blicke hinab in die Gasse,
Dort drüben hat sie gewohnt;
Das öde, verlassene Fenster,
Wie hell bescheint's der Mond.

Es gibt so viel zu beleuchten;
O holde Strahlen des Lichts,
Was webt ihr denn gespenstisch
Um jene Stätte des Nichts!

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by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
5. In the lane
Language: English 
I gaze down the lane:
Over there, she used to live;
That desolate, abandoned window,
How brightly does the moon shine on it!

There is so much to illuminate;
Oh lovely beams of light,
Why do you weave so eerily
About this place of nothingness?

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:

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 45

Translation © by Emily Ezust