If you saw a happiness pass by

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by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Sahst du ein Glück vorübergehn

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Sahst du ein Glück vorübergehn,
Das nie sich wiederfindet,
Ist's gut in einen Strom zu sehn,
Wo Alles wogt und schwindet.

O, starre nur hinein, hinein,
Du wirst es leichter missen,
Was dir, und soll's dein Liebstes seyn,
Vom Herzen ward gerissen.

Blick' unverwandt hinab zum Fluß,
Bis deine Tränen fallen,
Und sieh durch ihren warmen Guß
Die Flut hinunterwallen.

Hinträumend wird Vergessenheit
Des Herzens Wunde schließen;
Die Seele sieht mit ihrem Leid
Sich selbst vorüberfließen.

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Confirmed with Nicolaus Lenau, Sämmliche Gedichte, herausgegeben von Anastasius Grün, vierter Band, Stuttgart und Augsburg, J. G. Cotta Verlag, 1855, page 355.

Text Authorship:

by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850), "Blick in den Strom", written 1844, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Sechstes Buch, in Letzte Gedichte, first published 1844 [author's text checked 2 times 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: 16
Word count: 79

If you saw a happiness pass by

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

If you saw a happiness pass by
That shall never be found again,
It is good to look into a river
Where everything surges and disappears.

Oh, only gaze into it, gaze into it,
You shall less sorely miss
That -- and though it were your dearest treasure --
Which was torn from your heart.

Gaze steadfastly down to the river
Until your tears fall,
And through their warm outpouring see
The river surging onward.

As if in a dream, oblivion
Shall close the wound of your heart;
With its sorrow the soul sees
Itself flowing past.

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Translations of title(s):
"An den Strom" = "To the river"
"Blick in den Strom" = "Gaze into the river"
"Der Strom" = "The river"
"Letzter Lebensblick" = "Last gaze of life"
"Sahst du ein Glück vorübergehn" = "If you saw a happiness pass by"

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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850), "Blick in den Strom", written 1844, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Sechstes Buch, in Letzte Gedichte, first published 1844
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This text was added to the website: 2024-02-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 96