Oh sun, queen of the world

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by Johann Peter Uz (1720 - 1796)

Translation © by Malcolm Wren

An die Sonne

(Sung text for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

O Sonne, Königinn der Welt,
Die unser dunkles Rund erhellt,
In lichter Majestät;
Erhabnes Wunder einer Hand,
Die jene Himmel ausgespannt,
Und Sterne hingesät!

Noch heute seh ich deinen Glanz:
Mir lacht in ihrem Bluhmenkranz
Noch heute die Natur.
Der Vögel buntgefiedert Heer
Singt morgen mir vielleicht nicht mehr,
Im Wald und auf der Flur.

Ich fühle, daß ich sterblich bin!
Mein Leben welkt, wie Gras, dahin,
Wie ein verschmachtend Laub.
Wer weiß, wie unerwartet bald
Des höchsten Wort an mich erschallt:
Komm wieder in den Staub!

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Note: in Schubert's quartet, in stanza 1, line 2, the male voices sing "Rund" and the female voices simultaneously sing "Leben". In stanza 3, line 5, "Wort an mich" becomes "Stimme mir" in the repetition.

Composition:

Franz Peter Schubert

Text Authorship:

by Johann Peter Uz (1720 - 1796), "An die Sonne", written 1763, first published 1768

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 72
Word count: 368

To the sun

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Oh sun, queen of the world,
Which brightens our dark sphere
With light majesty;
Sublime miracle of a hand
Which spanned this sky
And strewed stars around!

Today I can still see your glow:
In its flowery garland I see it smiling on me,
Nature is still smiling on me today.
The host of birds with their brightly coloured plumage
Will perhaps no longer sing for me tomorrow
In the woods and out on the fields.

I can feel that I am mortal!
My life is fading away, like grass,
Like a parched leaf.
Who knows how unexpectedly soon
The highest word will call out to me:
'Come back into the dust!'

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Malcolm Wren, (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 Johann Peter Uz (1720 - 1796), "An die Sonne", written 1763, first published 1768
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This text was added to the website: 2017-08-11
Line count: 72
Word count: 463