Silently my rotten dugout boat is drifting

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel (1826 - 1886)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schweigsam treibt mein morscher Einbaum

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Schweigsam treibt mein morscher Einbaum,
Klar und ruhig wogt der See,
Purpurwarme Abendschatten
Färben der Gebirge Schnee.

Eines Eilands Klosterhallen
Dämmern aus der Flut empor,
Münsterglocken hör' ich schallen
Und der Schwestern frommen Chor:

 Sempiterni fons amoris
 Consulatrix tristium
 Pia mater Salvatoris
 Have, virgo, virginum.

Summend, singend, rein verklingend,
Süß ersterbend kommt der Ton,
Luft und Welle führen schwingend
Seinen letzten Hauch davon.

Und die Rechte senkt das Ruder,
Im Gebet erschweigt das Herz
Und mir ist, als trügen Engel
Eine Seele himmelwärts!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Rheinberger

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Joseph Victor Scheffel, Frau Aventiure. Lieder aus Heinrich von Ofterdingen's Zeit, zweite Auflage, Stuttgart: Verlag der J.B. Metzler'schen Buchhandlung, 1869, pages 187-188.

See also Zerlett's Ave Maria, which begins "Einsam treibt mein morscher Einbaum".

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel (1826 - 1886), no title, appears in Frau Aventiure. Lieder aus Heinrich von Ofterdingens Zeit, in Heinrich von Ofterdingen, in Am Traunsee, no. 2 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Go to the general view

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website: 2007-06-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 87

Silently my rotten dugout boat is...

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Silently my rotten dugout boat is drifting,
The lake surges clearly and quietly,
Crimson-warm evening shadows
Are colouring the snow on the mountains.

The halls of an island cloister
Rise dimly from the waters,
I hear the priory bells ringing
And the devout choir of the sisters:

Everlasting fountain of love,
 Consoler of those who are sad,
 Loving Mother of the Saviour,
 Hail, Virgin of all virgins.

Humming, singing, fading away purely,
Sweetly dying away, the sound comes;
Vibrating, the breeze and the wave carry
Away the last breath of the sound.

And my right hand lets the oar sink,
My heart falls silent in prayer,
And it seems to me as if angels
Were carrying a soul heavenward!

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Translations of title(s):
"Abendfeier" = "Evening celebration"
"Am Traunsee" = "At Lake Traun"
"Auf dem See" = "Upon the lake"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 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 Viktor von Scheffel (1826 - 1886), no title, appears in Frau Aventiure. Lieder aus Heinrich von Ofterdingens Zeit, in Heinrich von Ofterdingen, in Am Traunsee, no. 2
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general view

This text was added to the website: 2021-09-23
Line count: 20
Word count: 121