English translations of Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, opus 32

by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940)

1. In verschwiegener Nacht  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "In verschwiegener Nacht", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 1, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
In verschwiegener Nacht
Hab' ich deiner gedacht
Und mit sehnendem Gruß
Dich gegrüßet.

Hab' geweint und gelacht
In der heimlichen Nacht
Und mit [seligem]1 Kuß
Dich geküsset.

Als das Morgenlicht kam
Und die Träume mir nahm,
Hab' ich einsam die Wonne
Gebüßet.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Einundzwanzigst Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1905, page 37.

1 Courvoisier: "sehnendem"

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
1. In the silent night
Language: English 
In the silent night
I thought of you
And with a yearning greeting
I greeted you.

I wept and I laughed
In the secret night
And with a [blissful]1 kiss
I kissed you.

When the morning light came
And took my dreams away,
I paid the price for such bliss
In solitude.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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):
"In verschwiegener Nacht hab' ich deiner gedacht" = "In the silent night I thought of you"
"In verschwiegener Nacht" = "In the silent night"

1 Courvoisier: "yearning"


This text was added to the website: 2019-05-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 53

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
2. Seine Heimat  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Seine Heimat", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 2, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Zwei kleine Fenster, ins Grün geschmiegt,
Ein Strohdach, drüber die Sonne liegt
Und unter den Linden ein kühler Platz --
Das ist seine Heimath, da wohnt mein Schatz.

Sie sagen, da draußen in weiter Fern
Gäb's tausend Wunder, ich glaub's ja gern --
Mein' Seligkeit, meine Lust und Pein
Wohnt hinter den winzigen Fensterlein.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 14.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
2. His home
Language: English 
Two little windows, snuggled into the greenery,
A thatched roof above which lies the sun
And under the linden trees a cool place --
That is his home, there dwells my darling.

They say that out in the broad distance
There are a thousand wonders; I believe it gladly --
My bliss, my joy and pain
Dwells behind the tiny little windows.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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):
"Seine Heimat" = "His home"
"Seine Heimath" = "His home"



This text was added to the website: 2023-09-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 60

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
3. Ich hab' an seiner Brust geruht  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Ich hab' an seiner Brust geruht", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 3, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ich [hab']1 an seiner Brust geruht,
In seinen Armen schlief ich ein,
Und kreuzt er nimmer meinen Weg --
Er war doch eine Stunde mein!

Und wenn ich dieser Stunde Glück
Mit meinem Leben zahlen müßt',
Ich ginge lächelnd in den Tod --
Er hat mich [einmal doch]2 geküßt.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 27.

1 Wegener-Koopman: "habe"
2 Wegener-Koopman: "einmal, einmal"

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
3. I rested upon his bosom
Language: English 
I rested upon his bosom,
I fell asleep in his arms,
And though he may never cross my path again --
He was mine for one hour!

And if I would have to pay for 
This hour of happiness with my life,
I would go smiling into death --
For [he nevertheless kissed me once.]1

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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):
"Ein Stündchen lang" = "An hour long"
"Ich hab' an seiner Brust geruht" = "I rested upon his bosom"

1 Wegener-Koopman: "once, once he kissed me."


This text was added to the website: 2023-10-05
Line count: 8
Word count: 54

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
4. Wie ein Rausch ist deine Liebe  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Wie ein Rausch ist deine Liebe", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 4, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wie ein Rausch ist deine Liebe,
Deine Küsse wie der Wein --
Trank' ich mich an deinen Lippen
Selig satt, so schlaf ich ein.

Und dein Arm ist meine Wiege,
Heimlich singst du mir ein Lied,
Daß ein Glanz von Glück und Liebe
Noch durch meine Träume zieht.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 28.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
4. Your love is like an intoxication
Language: English 
Your love is like an intoxication,
Your kisses are like wine --
When I have drunk to blissful satiation
At your lips, then I fall asleep.

And your arm is my cradle,
Secretly you sing me a song,
So that a radiance of happiness and love
Still passes through my dreams.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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):
"Wie ein Rausch..." = "Like an intoxication . . ."
"Wie ein Rausch ist deine Liebe" = "Your love is like an intoxication"



This text was added to the website: 2023-10-05
Line count: 8
Word count: 50

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
5. Weiss keiner den heimlichen Platz?  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Weiss keiner den heimlichen Platz?", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 5, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wie träumten wir selig, mein Schatz!
Es ruhte der See uns zu Füßen
Und blinkte, als wollt' er uns grüßen --
Weiß Keiner den heimlichen Platz!

Weiß Keiner, wie oft mir dein Mund
Das Wort von den Lippen genommen, 
Weiß Keiner, wie Alles gekommen
Im blühenden, schweigenden Grund.

Der Sommer ist 'gangen, mein Schatz!
Das Glück brach der Sturm in Scherben,
Ich such' einen Winkel zum Sterben --
Weiß Keiner den heimlichen Platz.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 44.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
5. Nobody knows the secret place
Language: English 
How blissfully we dreamt, my darling!
The lake rested at our feet
And twinkled as if it wanted to greet us --
Nobody knows the secret place!

Nobody knows how often your lips
Took the words from mine,
Nobody knows how it all came about
In the blossoming, silent vale.

The summer has gone, my darling!
Happiness was shattered into shards by the storm,
I seek a corner in which to die --
Nobody knows the secret place.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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: 2023-10-09
Line count: 12
Word count: 76

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
6. Ich aber denke  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Ich aber denke", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 1 no. 6, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Sie sagen mir, du sei'st geborgen nun
Vor allem Leid, ein friedevolles Ruh'n,
Ein Sonnentraum sei über dich gekommen,
Seit dir der Tod die Bürde abgenommen,
Die Leben heißt. Du führtest, sagen sie,
Ein neues Dasein voller Harmonie,
Du wandeltest in wunderbaren Hallen,
Darin die Lieder der Erlösten schallen.
So sagen sie, und ach, viel Schön'res noch.
Ich aber denke heimlich, heimlich doch,
Daß aller Glanz, der jene Wände deckt,
Dir nicht die Erde und dein Weib versteckt,
Dein Weib, das draußen steht! Mit ihrem Trauern
Die Hallen füllt und an die ew'gen Mauern,
Die zwischen Tod und Leben sind gethürmt,
Mit dem Verzweiflungsmuth der Sehnsucht stürmt.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, pages 41-42.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
6. But I think . . .
Language: English 
They tell me that you are now safe, secured
From all sorrow, a peaceful rest,
A sunny dream has come over you
Since death took the burden from you,
The burden called life.  You are leading, they say,
A new existence full of harmony,
[That] you are walking in wondrous halls
In which the songs of the saved resound.
Thus they say, and ah, much more beautiful things yet.
But secretly, secretly I nevertheless think
That all the radiance that covers yonder walls
Does not hide from you the earth and your wife,
Your wife who stands outside!  Who with her mourning
Fills the halls and storms the eternal walls
That rise high between death and life
With the desperation of yearning.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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: 2023-10-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 122

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
7. An seinem Grabe  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "An seinem Grabe", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 7, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Nun spinnt der Epheu deine Ruhstatt ein,
Zu deinen Füßen sprießen Frühlingsblüten --
Du könntest schöner nicht gebettet sein!

Ich aber bete: Hege mir den Müden,
Du heil'ge Erde, und du Kreuz von Stein,
O sprich auch meiner Noth das Wort vom Frieden!

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 58.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
7. At his grave
Language: English 
Now the ivy is spinning a web about your resting place,
At your feet spring blossoms are burgeoning --
You could not be bedded more beautifully!

But I pray: Cherish the weary one for me,
You holy earth, and you cross of stone,
Speak to my misery, too, the word about peace!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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 seinem Grabe" = "At his grave"
"Ein Grab" = "A grave"



This text was added to the website: 2023-10-10
Line count: 6
Word count: 51

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
8. Einsamkeit  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Einsamkeit", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 8, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Einsamkeit, ernsthafte Frau,
Tratest einst still in mein Zimmer,
Ach, und ich wollte dich nimmer,
Grüßte dich finster und rauh.

Nicktest nur milde dazu,
Ließest dich doch nicht verjagen,
Mußte dich eben ertragen,
Sangest mich heimlich zur Ruh.

Sieh, und nun weiß ich genau:
Wolltest du heut von mir scheiden,
Würde ich tief darunter leider,
Einsamkeit, ernsthafte Frau.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Einundzwanzigste Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1905, page 156.


by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
8. Loneliness
Language: English 
Loneliness, grave woman,
You once stepped quietly into my chamber,
Ah, and I never wanted you,
[I] greeted you darkly and roughly.

To that you only nodded mildly,
Yet did not let yourself be driven off,
I simply had to put up with you,
Secretly, you sang me to rest.

Lo, and now I know it precisely:
If you wished to part from me today,
I would suffer deeply as a result,
Loneliness, grave woman.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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: 2019-06-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 75

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
9. Schlafe, ach schlafe  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Schlafe, ach schlafe", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 9, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Und dürft' ich dich wecken zum Sonnenlicht
Aus Schatten des Todes, ich thät es nicht,
Ich sänke nieder an deinem Grab
Und leise [raunt]1 ich ein Lied hinab:
  Schlafe, ach, schlafe!

O laß in dein traumtiefes Kämmerlein
Kein Fünkchen des schimmernden Licht's hinein,
Denn was die Sonne dir auch verspricht,
So hell, so strahlend -- sie hält es nicht.
  Schlafe, ach, schlafe.

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Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 61.

1 von Kehler: "säng' "

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
9. Sleep, ah, sleep
Language: English 
And if I could have woken you with the sunlight
From the shadow of death, I would not have.
I would have sunk down to your grave
And gently whispered a song down [to you]:
  Sleep, ah, sleep!

Oh in your dream-deep chamber
Let no spark of the shimmering light inside,
Because what the sun promises you,
So bright, so shining -- it will not keep.
  Sleep, ah, sleep.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Garrett Medlock, (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: 2020-01-20
Line count: 10
Word count: 68

Translation © by Garrett Medlock
10. Sieh', nun ist es dunkel worden  [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernst Hans Fährmann (1860 - 1940), "Sieh', nun ist es dunkel worden", op. 32 (Zehn kleine Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 10, published 1906 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, (Junne.)
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Sieh, nun ist es dunkel 'worden,
Alles schläft in weiter Welt,
Nur die Sterne wallen leise
Ihren Weg am Himmelszelt.

Und der leuchtendste von allen,
Jener dort im weißen Kleid,
Schaut mit seinen heil'gen Augen
Still in uns're Einsamkeit.

Sanfter nun die Herzen schlagen,
Auf der Lippe schläft das Wort,
Und die Seelen wandern [heimlich]1,
Hand in Hand zum Himmel fort.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Anna Ritter, Leipzig: Verlag von A.G. Liebeskind, 1898, page 17.

1 Rosenthal: "leise"

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)
10. When the stars are shining
Language: English 
See, now it has grown dark,
Everything in the wide world is sleeping,
Only the stars quietly pursue
Their course upon the canopy of heaven.

And the most radiant one of all,
That one there in the white garb,
Silently gazes with its holy eyes
Into our solitude.

More gently now our hearts beat,
The words are asleep upon our lips,
And, hand in hand, our souls wander
[Secretly]1 onward to Heaven.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Rosenthal: "Quietly"


This text was added to the website: 2018-03-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 73

Translation © by Sharon Krebs