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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Nachtgedanken
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG ITA
Euch bedaur' ich, unglücksel'ge Sterne,
Die ihr schön seid und so herrlich scheinet,
Dem bedrängten Schiffer gerne leuchtet,
Unbelohnt von Göttern und von Menschen:
Denn ihr liebt nicht, kanntet nie die Liebe!
Unaufhaltsam führen [ew'ge]1 Stunden
Eure Reihen durch den weiten Himmel.
Welche Reise habt ihr schon vollendet!
Seit ich, weilend in dem Arm der Liebsten,
Euer und der Mitternacht vergessen.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   J. Suder 

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Goethe, Dritte Auflage, Berlin: G. Grote'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1873, page 301.

1 Suder: "ewige"

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Nachtgedanken" [author's text checked 2 times 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 Selmar Bagge (1823 - 1896), "Nachtgedanken", op. 18 (Sechs Gedichte von Goethe für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1885 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Paul Frommer (1868 - 1914), "Nachtgedanken", op. 38 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1, published 1899 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig: J. Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Paul Hermann Franz Graener (1872 - 1944), "Nachtgedanken", op. 94 (Vier Lieder zu Gedichten von Goethe) no. 2, published 1932 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Margarete Schweikert (1887 - 1957), "Nachtgedanken", op. 11 (Vier Gedichte von Goethe) no. 3 (1916?), published 1918 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Joseph Suder (1892 - 1980), "Nachtgedanken", 1916, rev. 1969 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Winfried (Petrus Ignatius) Zillig (1905 - 1963), "Nachtgedanken", 1941 [ female voice and piano or orchestra ], from Zehn Lieder nach Gedichten von Goethe, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Nighttime thoughts", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Pensieri notturni", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 62

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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