by Emanuel Geibel (1815 - 1884)
Translation © by Jeffrey Williams

Gebet
 (Sung text for setting by H. Marschner)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG ENG
Du, den ich tief im Herzen trage, sei du mit mir!
Du Gnadenhort in Glück und Plage, sei du mit mir!
Im Brand des Sommers, der dem Manne die Wange bräunt, 
Wie in der Jugend Rosentagen sei du mit mir; 
Behüte mich am Born der Freude vor Übermuth, 
Und wenn ich an mir selbst verzage, sei du mit mir.
Gieb deinen Geist zu meinem Liede, daß rein es sei,
Und daß kein Wort mich einst verklage, sei du mit mir. 
Dein Segen ist wie Thau den Reben; nichts kann ich selbst, 
Doch daß ich kühn das Höchste wage, sei du mit mir, 
O du mein Trost, du meine Stärke, o du mein Sonnenlicht, 
Bis an das Ende meiner Tage O Herr, sei du mit mir!

Note: in many older editions, the spelling of the capitalized word "über" becomes "Ueber", but this is often due to the printing process and not to rules of orthography, since the lower-case version is not "ueber", so we use "Über".

Modernized spelling would require changing "Übermuth" to "Übermut", "Gieb" to "Gib", "Thau" to "Tau", etc.

Composition:

    Set to music by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Gebet", op. 154b no. 1, published 1851 [ baritone and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag; we have added the letter 'b' to the opus number to distinguish this set from the one assigned the same opus number by another publisher in 1850

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (John H. Campbell) , "Prayer", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sarah Hoffman) , "Prayer", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Jeffrey Williams) , "Prayer", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , John H. Campbell , Jeffrey Williams [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 130

Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
You, whom I carry deep in my heart, be with me.
You haven of grace in happiness and plague, be with me.
In the fire of summer, that tans the cheek of man,
Like in the rosy days of youth, be with me.
Guard me at the fountain of joy from arrogance
and when I despair of myself, be with me.
Give your spirit to my song, that it may be pure,
And that no word shall ever be against me; be with me.
Your blessing is like dew on the vines, I can't do anything myself;
But that I boldly dare the highest, be with me.
O you, my comfort, you my strength, O Lord, be sunshine,
Until the end of my days O Lord, be with me!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 by Jeffrey Williams, (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:

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This text was added to the website: 2021-02-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 129