To the moon on an autumn night | Friendly is your face

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by Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber (1761 - 1841)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Freundlich ist dein Antlitz,
Sohn des Himmels!
Leis sind deine Tritte
Durch des Aethers Wüste,
Holder Nachtgefährte.

Dein Schimmer ist sanft und erquickend,
Wie das Wort des Trostes
Von des Freundes Lippe,
Wenn ein schrecklicher Geyer
An der Seele nagt.

Manche Thräne siehst du,
Siehst so manches Lächeln,
Hörst der Liebe trauliches Geflüster,
Leuchtest ihr auf stillem Pfade,
Hoffnung schwebt auf deinem Strahle
Herab zum stillen Dulder,
Der verlassen geht auf bedorntem Weg.

Du siehst auch meine Freunde,
Zerstreut in fernen Landen;
Du gießest deinen Schimmer
Auch auf die frohen Hügel,
Wo [ich]¹ als Knabe hüpfte,
Wo oft bei deinem Lächeln
Ein unbekanntes Sehnen
Mein junges Herz ergriff.

Du blickst auch auf die Stätte,
Wo meine Lieben [ruhen]²,
Wo der Thau fällt auf ihr Grab,
Und die Gräser drüber [wehen]³
In dem Abendhauche.

Doch dein Schimmer
Dringt nicht in die dunkle Kammer,
Wo sie ruhen von des Lebens [Mühe]⁴,
Wo auch ich bald ruhen werde!
Du wirst geh'n und wiederkehren,
[Und]⁵ seh'n noch manches Lächeln,
Dann werd' ich nicht mehr lächeln,
Dann werd' ich nicht mehr weinen,
Mein wird man [dann]⁶ nicht mehr gedenken
Auf dieser schönen Erde.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Poetische Werke von Aloys Schreiber. Erster Band. Tübingen, bei Heinrich Laupp. 1817, pages 366-367; and with Aloys Schreiber's Gedichte. Zweyter Theil. Neueste Auflage. Wien 1817. Bey B. Ph. Bauer, pages 68-69.

First published in a slightly different version in 1801; see below.

¹ Schubert: "ich oft"
² Schubert: "ruhn"
³ Schubert: "wehn"
⁴ Schubert: "Müh'n"
⁵ Schubert: "Du wirst"
⁶ omitted by Schubert

Text Authorship:

by Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber (1761 - 1841), "An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht", D 614 (1818), published 1832 [sung text checked 1 time]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 188

To the moon on an autumn night

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Friendly is your face,
son¹ of the sky!
Gentle are your steps
through the wasteland of ether,
lovely night companion!

Your glow is gentle and refreshing,
like words of solace
from the lips of a friend
when some terrible woe
gnaws on the soul.

You see many tears,
and many smiles;
you hear the intimate whispers of lovers,
and light their silent way;
hope floats down on your rays
to the silent suffering one;
the forsaken one continues on his thorny way.

You see also my friends,
scattered in far lands:
you pour your light
also on those cheerful hills
where as a boy I often played and jumped,
and where, at your smile,
an unknown longing
gripped my young heart.

You gaze down also on those places
where my loved ones rest,
where the dew falls upon their graves
and the grass above them waves
in the evening breeze.

Yet your light does not penetrate
the dark chamber
where they rest from life's misery,
where soon I shall rest as well!
You shall go and then return;
you shall see many a smile yet;
but I will smile no more
and weep no more;
no one will think about me again
upon this fair earth.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Translator's note: In German, "moon" is a masculine noun. Substitute "daughter" if you prefer!

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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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber (1761 - 1841), "An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 206