Night is like a quiet sea

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Nacht ist wie ein stilles Meer

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE HEB ITA

Nacht ist wie ein stilles Meer,
Lust und Leid und Liebesklagen
Kommen so verworren her
In dem linden Wellenschlagen.

Wünsche wie die Wolken sind,
Schiffen durch die stillen Räume,
Wer erkennt im lauen Wind,
Ob's Gedanken oder Träume? --

Schließ' ich nun auch Herz und Mund,
Die so gern den Sternen klagen:
Leise doch im Herzensgrund
Bleibt das linde Wellenschlagen.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Hensel • J. Rheinberger

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Confirmed with Joseph von Eichendorff, Sämtliche Gedichte und Versepen, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 2001, page 299. First published in Dichter und ihre Gesellen, 1833

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Die Nachtblume", appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe, first published 1833 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 62

Night is like a quiet sea

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Night is like a quiet sea,
Passion and pain and laments of love
Come hither so confusedly
In the gentle beating of the waves.

Wishes are like the clouds,
They sail through the quiet expanses;
In the tepid wind, who can tell
If they are thoughts or dreams? --

Though I now close my heart and mouth
That are so fond of lamenting to the stars,
Quietly nevertheless in the depths of my heart
There remains the gentle beating of the waves.

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Translations of title(s):
"Nacht ist wie ein stilles Meer" = "Night is like a quiet sea"
"Die Nachtblume" = "Night flower"
"Die Nacht" = "Night"

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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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Die Nachtblume", appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe, first published 1833
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This text was added to the website: 2018-09-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 84