English translations of Zwei Lieder für Männerchor, opus 10

by Franciscus Nagler (1873 - 1957)

1. Siehst du das Meer? Es glänzt auf seiner Flut  [sung text not yet checked]
by Franciscus Nagler (1873 - 1957), "Siehst du das Meer? Es glänzt auf seiner Flut", op. 10 (Zwei Lieder für Männerchor) no. 1, published 1900 [ men's chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Spitzner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Siehst du das Meer? Es glänzt auf seiner Fluth
Der Sonne Pracht;
Doch in der Tiefe, wo die Perle ruht,
Ist finstre Nacht.

Das Meer bin ich. In stolzen Wogen rollt
Mein wilder Sinn,
Und meine Lieder ziehn wie Sonnengold
Darüber hin.

Sie flimmern oft von zauberhafter Lust,
Von Lieb' und Scherz;
Doch schweigend blutet in verborg'ner Brust
Mein dunkles Herz.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel, Berlin: Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1845, page 143.


by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884)
1. Do you see the ocean? Upon its waters shines
Language: English 
Do you see the ocean? Upon its waters shines
The splendour of the sun;
But in the depths where the pearl rests,
It is dark night.

I am the ocean. In proud waves my wild
Spirit rolls,
And my songs pass like the gold of the sun
Over it and away.

They often flicker with magical joy,
With love and jesting;
But, concealed in my bosom, silently bleeds
My dark heart.

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.
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Translations of titles:
"Am Meere" = "By the sea"
"Siehst du das Meer?" = "Do you see the ocean?"
"Siehst du das Meer? Es glänzt auf seiner Flut" = "Do you see the ocean? Upon its waters shines"



This text was added to the website: 2025-08-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
2. Sehnsucht  [sung text not yet checked]
by Franciscus Nagler (1873 - 1957), "Sehnsucht", op. 10 (Zwei Lieder für Männerchor) no. 2, published 1900 [ men's chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Spitzner
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es [schienen]1 so golden die Sterne,
Am Fenster ich einsam stand
Und hörte aus weiter Ferne
Ein Posthorn im stillen Land.
Das Herz mir im Leib entbrennte,
Da hab' ich mir heimlich gedacht:
Ach, wer da mitreisen könnte
In der prächtigen Sommernacht!

Zwei junge Gesellen gingen
Vorüber am Bergeshang,
Ich hörte im Wandern sie singen
Die stille Gegend entlang:
Von schwindelnden Felsenschlüften
Wo die Wälder rauschen so sacht,
Von Quellen, die von den Klüften
Sich stürzen in die Waldesnacht.

Sie sangen von Marmorbildern,
Von Gärten, die über'm Gestein
In dämmernden Lauben verwildern,
Palästen im Mondenschein,
Wo die Mädchen am Fenster lauschen,
Wann der Lauten Klang erwacht,
Und die Brunnen verschlafen rauschen
In der prächtigen Sommernacht. --

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Confirmed with Deutsche Dichter der Gegenwart. Erläutert von August Nodnagel. Erstes Heft: Freiligrath. Eichendorff, Darmstadt, Verlag von Johann Philipp Diehl, 1842, page 106.

Note: the Abt score published in the US has some misprints that should be ignored: stanza 1 line 5 word 6 "entbrannte" instead of "entbrennte"; and stanza 2 line 5 word 3 "Felsenschluchten" instead of "Felsenschlüften"

1 Haeser: "scheinen" (typo?); further changes may exist not shown above.

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
2. Yearning
Language: English 
 The stars were shining with golden light
 as I stood alone by the window
 and listened to the distant sound
 of the posthorn in the still countryside.
 My heart became inflamed in my body,
 and I thought secretly to myself:
 Ah, if only I could journey with them
 into that magnificent summer night!
 
 Two young men were walking
 past on the slope of the mountain,
 and I heard them singing as they walked along
 in the quiet area:
 of vertiginous, rocky gullies 
 where the woods rustle so gently;
 of springs that rush out from the clefts
 into the night of the woods.
 
 They sang of marble statues,
 of gardens that grew wild upon stones
 in dusky groves;
 of palaces in the moonlight
 where maidens listen by the windows
 when the strum of lutes awakens them;
 and of fountains murmuring sleepily
 in the magnificent summer night.

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: 24
Word count: 146

Translation © by Emily Ezust