English translations of Sechs deutsche Lieder, opus 27

by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880)

1. Traumleben
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Traumleben", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 1 (1841), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Noch kaum erwacht vom Träumen, --
Das Träumen kam von dir,--
Geh ich hier unter Bäumen,
Dein Bild geht neben mir.
 
Die Bäume dunkel schatten
Und wölben sich zum Dach;
Ein seliges Ermatten
Schleicht hier dem Wandrer nach.
 
Wie neue Traumesdecke
Zieht's nun sich sanft um mich,
Und, wenn ich leis erschrecke,
So sprang ein Lied auf dich.

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Poet's title (in the Stuttgart manuscript): "Traumleben"
Poet's title (in the Marbach manuscript): [none] just the date, 17. Juni [1840]

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
1. Dream life
Language: English 
When I have barely awakened from [dreams]1 --
The dreaming came from you --
I wander under the trees here,
Your image walks beside me.
 
The trees cast dark shadows
And arch themselves to a vault;
A blessed fatigue
Creeps after the wanderer here.
 
A new canopy of dreams
Gently wafts about me,
And when I am quietly startled,
A poem in your honour is born.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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1 Lang: "dreaming"


This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 65

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
2. An einer Quelle
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "An einer Quelle", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 2 (1853), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wenn das Herz dir ist beklommen
Und in's Auge Thränen kommen,
Weißt nicht, was dir werden soll,
Wenn kein Antlitz dir erscheinet,
Das es treulich mit dir meinet,
Und dein Auge wird zu voll;--
 
O dann in den Wald nur tauche!
Deine tiefen Seufzer hauche
Flüsternd in die grüne Nacht!
Wenn's dann immer tiefer düstert,
O wie süß es mit dir flüstert:
Kind, was hat dir bang gemacht?
 
Setz' dich dorten, wo die Quelle
Niederspielt vom Felsen helle!
Sag' ihr Alles, was dich kränkt!
Fort mit sich führt sie die Schmerzen;
Neuen Lebens frisch im Herzen
Fühlst dir einen Trunk geschenkt.

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First published in the periodical Morgenblatt, March 22, 1841 (No. 69).

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
2. At a wellspring
Language: English 
When your heart is oppressed
And tears form in your eyes,
When you do not know what will happen to you,
When no one around you appears
To be on your side in faith and honesty,
And your eyes overflow [with tears]; --
 
Oh, then retreat into the forest!
Breathe your sighs
Quietly into the green night!
Then when it becomes ever more dark,
Oh, how sweetly the forest seems to whisper:
"Child, what has made you anxious?"
 
Sit down there where the wellspring
Playfully and brightly descends from the rock!
Tell it everything that is bothering you!
It will carry your pain away;
With new life burgeoning in your heart
You shall feel as if you have been offered a refreshing drink.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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):
"An einer Quelle" = "At a wellspring"
"Wenn das Herz dir ist beklommen" = "When your heart is oppressed"



This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 18
Word count: 122

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
3. Ob ich manchmal Dein gedenke
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Ob ich manchmal Dein gedenke", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 3 (1841), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ob ich manchmal Dein gedenke?
Wüßtest Du, wie sehr ich's thu',
Dir auch noch die Schatten lenke
Träumender Gedanken zu!
 
Tag und Nacht, und alle Stunden,--
O dies Alles sagt es nicht;
Du, seitdem wir uns gefunden,
Bist's allein, was aus mir spricht.
 
Alles Andre seh' ich schweben
Um mich her wie Traum und Schein.
Dein gedenken ist mein Leben,
Dich zu lieben ist mein Sein.

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Note: in Jenner's song, in stanza 3, line 2, word 4 ("wie") becomes "in" in the repetition. Note: in Lang's first edition (1848), in stanza 1, line 3, word 6 ("lenke") was "lenken" and stanza 3, line 1, word 5 was "schwanken". These were corrected in the 2008 edition.

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
3.
Language: English 
Do I sometimes think of you?
If you [only] knew how [much]1!
Draw unto yourself even the shadows
Of [my] dreaming thoughts!
 
Day and night, and at all hours,
Oh all [those words] do not express it;
You alone, since we found each other,
Are the substance of my utterances.
 
I see everything else [wafting]2
About me [like]3 dreams and illusions!
To think of you is my [very] life!
To love you is my existence.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Sharon Krebs and Harald 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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1 Jenner: "often"
2 Jenner, Lang (in the 1848 edition): "tottering"; Lang (in the 2008 edition): "wafting"
3 Jenner (when the text is repeated): "in"


This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 78

Translation © by Sharon Krebs, Harald Krebs
4. Frühling ist gekommen
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Frühling ist gekommen", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 4 (1841), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Frühling ist gekommen,
Wie so lieb und hold!
Siehst Du auch beklommen,
In sein junges Gold?
 
Rauschen Dir die Tannen,
Durch den Traum wohl auch!
Und Du fragst von wannen
Kommt der Zauberhauch?
 
Wachten alte Lieder
Dir im Herzen auf!
Goldne Tage wieder
Steigen sie herauf!
 
Wandelst im Gedanken,
Wieder Du am See!
Siehst den Nachen schwanken,
Voller Lust und Weh?
 
Siehst den Dichter fahren
Und die Sängerin,
Rosen in den Haaren,
Fragen nicht wohin?
 
Träume liebes Mädchen!
Götter sind zur Hand,
Und des Traumesfädchen
Wird zum starken Band!

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by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
4.
Language: English 
Spring has come,
How lovely and fair!
[Yet] you gaze anxiously
Into its fresh gold?

Do the pines, too, sough
Through your dreams[?]
And you ask whither comes
The magical breeze?

Do old songs reawaken
In your heart[?]
Golden days,
Are they dawning again[?]

In your thoughts do you wander
Again beside the lake?
Do you see the little boat rocking,
Full of joy and pain [on the waves]?

Do you see the poet sailing,
And the singer,
With roses in their hair,
Asking nothing about whither they are bound?

Dream, dear maiden!
Gods are at hand,
And the thin thread of the dream
Shall become a strong bond!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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Translated titles:
"Frühling ist gekommen" = "Spring has come"
"Erinnerung" = "Remembrance"



This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 24
Word count: 109

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
5. Lebt wohl, ihr Berge
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Lebt wohl, ihr Berge", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 5 (likely 1854), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Lebt wohl, ihr Berge, Thäler traut,
Und jeder Baum und jeder Strauch,
Und was noch liebend nach mir schaut,
Ein jedes Gräslein grüß' ich auch.
 
Ein liebes Aug' in stillem Thau,
Das hängt an euch jetzt sehnsuchtsvoll,
Daß jedes Blümchen auf der Au
Von mir noch Grüße sagen soll.
 
O heilt das Aug vom süßen Tod!
In Lächeln wandelt seinen Schmerz!
Und, ist dazu ein Zauber noth,
So nehmt nur gleich mein ganzes Herz!

Text Authorship:

  • by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), no title, subtitle: "6. Juni Tüb.-Stuttg.", written 1854?

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by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
5.
Language: English 
Farewell, ye mountains, ye homey valleys,
And every tree and every shrub;
And everything that still gazes lovingly after me,
Every blade of grass I greet, too.
 
A beloved [pair of] eyes, quietly bedewed,
Is now gazing upon you longingly,
[Asking that] every flower in the meadow
May still convey my greetings.
 
Oh, heal her eyes from the sweet death!
Turn their pain into a smile!
And if you find that a charm is necessary to accomplish that,
Then take immediately, too, my entire heart!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 85

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
6. Zu Tod möcht ich mich lieben
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Zu Tod möcht ich mich lieben", op. 27 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 6 (likely 1841), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
"Liebster Freund, und kann's denn sein,
Wächst noch immer diese Liebe?
Längst war ihr das Herz zu klein,
Quillt noch stets von neuem Triebe!
 
Tag für Tag und Nacht für Nacht
Füllt sich's fort aus ew'gen Quellen
Und das Herze weint und lacht,
Kann sich gar nicht mehr verstellen.
 
Süße Krankheit, himmlisch Leid!
Und so mag's die Welt denn wissen!
Der mich liebt, ist ach, so weit,
Und das Herz ist mir zerrissen.
 
Aber dann im Traum der Nacht,
O wie sind wir da beisammen,--
Süßer, als ich's je gedacht,--
Und sie tödten nicht die Flammen?
 
Ja, nur zu! Ich zage nicht
Dies allein ist mir geblieben,
Ich liebe Dich! Bis dies Herz mir bricht
Ja zu todt möcht' ich mich lieben

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Poet's title (in the Stuttgart manuscript): "Weiberle singt"
Poet's title (in the Marbach manuscript): [none] just the date, 16. November [1841]

The poem is in quotation marks and in a feminine voice because Köstlin based it on the contents of a letter than Lang wrote to him. In fact, on the Stuttgart poetry manuscript he wrote: "Da hab' ich eben geschwind noch ein Motiv aus deinem Brief aufgegriffen (Here I have quickly just snatched a motif yet from your letter)."

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)
6.
Language: English 
"[Dearest friend!]1 And can it be?
Does this love continue to grow?
My heart has long been too small to hold it,
But it still wells forth ever new!
 
Day after day and night after night
It is filled again from eternal springs,
And my heart weeps and laughs;
It can no longer disguise what it feels.
 
Sweet sickness, heavenly pain!
And so the world may know it!
He who loves me is, ah, so far away,
And my heart is torn to shreds.
 
But then in the dream of night,
Oh how we are together there,--
Sweeter than I ever imagined,--
And flames [of love] do not kill?
 
Let it be so!  I do not hesitate.
This alone is left to me:
[Kiss me, until this heart breaks into pieces!]2
[Oh,]3 I would love unto death!"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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Translated titles:
"Weiberle singt" = "The little woman sings"
"Zu Tod möcht ich mich lieben" = "I would love unto death"

1 in the Marbach poetry manuscript: "Heart, my heart"
2 Lang: "I shall love you! Until this heart of mine breaks!"
3 Lang: "Yes"


This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 20
Word count: 140

Translation © by Sharon Krebs