My heart is as vast as a lake

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by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG FRE IRI NOR

Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit,
Drin lacht dein Antlitz sonnenlicht
In tiefer süßer Einsamkeit,
Wo leise Well' an Well' sich bricht.

Ist's Nacht, ist's Tag? Ich weiß es nicht,
Lacht doch auf mich so lieb und lind
Dein sonnenlichtes Angesicht
Und selig bin ich wie ein Kind.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• C. Orff • K. Thomas

About the headline (FAQ)

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Confirmed with Gedichte und Sprüche von Friedrich Nietzsche,Leipzig: Druck und Verlag von C.G. Naumann, 1901, page 23.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), appears in Lieder, no. 1 [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 Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit", 1919 [ high voice and piano ], from Zwei Lieder für hohe Stimme, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Kurt Thomas (1904 - 1973), "Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit", op. 9 no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Heiter", 1901-4, from Acht frühe Lieder, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El meu cor és tan gran com un llac", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Bonheur", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Munter", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 53

My heart is as vast as a lake

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My heart is as vast as a lake,
within it laughs your sunlit face
in deep, sweet solitude,
where quiet wave breaks upon wave.

Is it night, is it day?  I do not know.
Your sunlit face laughs down at me,
so dearly and so gently.
and I am as contented as a child.

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Translated titles:
"Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit" = "My heart is as vast as a lake"
"Heiter" = "Merry"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), appears in Lieder, no. 1
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-10-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 56