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

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by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)
Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Ein Traum, ein Traum ist unser Leben
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ITA
Ein Traum, ein Traum ist unser Leben
auf Erden hier.
Wie Schatten auf den Wogen schweben
und schwinden wir.
Und messen unsre trägen [Tritte]1
nach Raum und Zeit.
Und sind - [und]2 wissen's nicht - in [Mitte
der]3 Ewigkeit.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Swienty, Zilcher: "Schritte"
2 Zilcher: "wir"
3 omitted by Swienty.

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Sogno, soltanto sogno è l'esistenza", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 40

Our life is but a dream
 (Sung text for setting by G. Bachlund)
 Matches original text
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Our life is but a dream, and dreaming
we live down here.
Like shadows on the swell we're streaming
and disappear.
And measure our laboured striding
by time and space,
not knowing that we e'er abide in
eternity.

Composition:

    Set to music by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Our life is but a dream", 2013 [ medium voice and piano ]

Text Authorship:

  • by Bertram Kottmann , "Our life is but a dream, and dreaming", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)
    • Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view


Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website: 2007-12-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 38

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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