Nighttime timidity | Tentatively from the clouds into the land

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by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Nächtliche Scheu

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Zaghaft vom Gewölk ins Land
    fließt des Lichtes Flut
aus des Mondes bleicher Hand,
    dämpft mir alle Glut.

Ein verirrter Schimmer schwebt
  durch den Wald zum Fluß,
  und das dunkle Wasser bebt
      unter seinem Kuß.

Hörst du, Lieb? die Welle lallt:
      küsse, küsse mich!
Und mit zaghafter Gewalt,
    Bleiche küss', ich dich.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• A. Webern

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Richard Dehmel, Erlösungen. Gedichte und Sprüche, Zweite Ausgabe, durchaus verändert, Berlin: Verlag von Schuster & Loeffler, 1898, page 137

Text Authorship:

by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Nächtliche Scheu", appears in Erlösungen; eine Seelenwandlung in Gedichte und Sprüche [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 Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Nächtliche Scheu", 1907, from Fünf Lieder, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Timidesa nocturna", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Nighttime timidity", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Appréhension nocturne", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Jeroen Scholten , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 52

Nighttime timidity

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Tentatively from the clouds into the land
    flows the flood of light
from out the moon’s pale hand,
    damping all my fervour.

A stray shimmer wafts
  through the forest to the river,
  and the dark water trembles
      at its kiss.

Do you hear, love? the wave babbles:
      kiss, kiss me!
And with tentative force,
    Pale one, I kiss you.

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Nächtliche Scheu", appears in Erlösungen; eine Seelenwandlung in Gedichte und Sprüche
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-10-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 59