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Es wandelt, was wir schauen, Tag sinkt in's Abendrot, Die Lust hat eig'nes Grauen, Und alles hat den Tod. In's Leben schleicht das Leiden Sich heimlich wie ein Dieb, Wir alle müssen scheiden Von allem, was uns lieb. Was gäb' es doch auf Erden, Wer hielt' den Jammer aus, Wer möcht' geboren werden, Hielt'st Du nicht droben Haus! Du bist's, der, was wir bauen, Mild über uns zerbricht, Daß wir den Himmel schauen -- Darum so klag' ich nicht.
A. Berg sets stanzas 1-2
E. Smyth sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Joseph von Eichendorff, Sämtliche Gedichte und Versepen, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 2001, page 291.
Text Authorship:
- by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Geistliche Gedichte, in Der Umkehrende, no. 4 [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 Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "Es wandelt, was wir schauen", 1904, stanzas 1-2 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, Vol. I (1901-04), no. 27 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Ergebung", op. 27 (Geistliche Lieder), Heft 5 (Trost - Einsamkeit) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Ehlert (1825 - 1884), "Es wandelt, was wir schauen", op. 28 (Fünf Lieder für gemischten Chor) no. 2, published 1862? [ mixed chorus a cappella ], Berlin, Trautwein? (only 4 and 5 are in Hofmeister) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Fürstenthal (1920 - 2016), "Ergebung", published 1981 [ voice and piano ], from 16 Lieder und Balladen vom Leben und Vergehen, no. 9, from Sieben Lieder nach Gedichten von Joseph von Eichendorff, no. 1, confirmed with a CD booklet; Hollywood, CA : Alpheus Music (Sieben Lieder) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Leopold) Heinrich (Picot de Peccaduc), Freiherr von Herzogenberg (1843 - 1900), "Ergebung", op. 105 no. 7, published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Elegische Gesänge (Zweite Folge) : aus dem Cyklus "Auf meines Kindes Tod" von J. v. Eichendorff für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, no. 7, Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julius Joseph Maier (1821 - 1889), "Es wandelt, was wir schauen", op. 5 (Gesänge) no. 4, published 1853 [ SATB quartet ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lilo Martin (1908 - 1986 ), "Es wandelt, was wir schauen" [ voice and piano ], from Lieder an die Mutter, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Ergebung", published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder und Gesänge, no. 17, Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Pepping (1901 - 1981), "Ergebung", 1946, published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from Haus- und Trostbuch, no. 39 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Rausch (1880 - 1951), "Ergebung" [ voice and piano ], from Elf Eichendorff-Lieder, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Ergebung", op. 30 no. 6 (1918) [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Eichendorff-Lieder, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961), "Ergebung" [ medium voice and piano ], from Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen : Drei Eichendorff-Lieder für mittlere Stimme und Klavier, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame (1858 - 1944), "Es wandelt was wir schauen", op. 3 (Lieder und Balladen für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1886, stanzas 1-2 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Ce que nous voyons change", copyright © 2011, (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: 16
Word count: 79
That which we see changes, Day sinks into the evening glow, Joy contains its own horror, And everything is destined to death. Suffering creeps into life, Secretly like a thief, We must all part From everything that we hold dear. What would there be on earth, Who could stand the misery, Who would want to be born, If Thou didst not manage everything from on high! Thou art the one who gently over us Breaks that which we build, So that we may behold Heaven -- Therefore I do not complain.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesTranslations of title(s):
"Ergebung" = "Submission"
"Es wandelt, was wir schauen" = "That which we see changes"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Geistliche Gedichte, in Der Umkehrende, no. 4
This text was added to the website: 2024-07-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 91