Night stepped on land at measured pace

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by Eduard Mörike (1804 - 1875)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Um Mitternacht

(Sung text for setting by A. Wallnöfer)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE FRE ITA

Bedächtig stieg die Nacht an's Land,
Lehnt träumend an der Berge Wand,
Ihr Auge sieht die goldne Wage nun 
Der Zeit in gleichen Schalen stille ruhn;
  Und kecker rauschen die Quellen hervor,
  Sie singen der Mutter, der Nacht, in's Ohr
    Vom Tage,
  Vom heute gewesenen Tage.

Das uralt alte Schlummerlied,
Sie achtet's nicht, sie ist es müd';
Ihr klingt des Himmels Bläue süßer noch,
Der flücht'gen Stunden gleichgeschwung'nes Joch.
  Doch immer behalten die Quellen das Wort,
  Es singen die Wasser im Schlafe noch fort
    Vom Tage, 
  Vom heute gewesenen Tage.

Composition:

Adolf Wallnöfer

Text Authorship:

by Eduard Mörike (1804 - 1875), "Um Mitternacht"

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) (Wijtse Rodenburg) , no title, copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright ©
ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 92

At midnight

(Sung text translation for setting by A. Wallnöfer)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Night stepped on land at measured pace,
Leans dreaming on the mountains' face,
Her eye beholds time's golden pair of scales
Completely balanced at that time of day.
More boldly the springs rush forth and they ring,
In the ear of the night, their mother, they sing
Of the day 
that was today.

That age-old, ancient lullaby,
It tires her, shuts ear and eye;
To her the heaven's blue still sounds more sweet
And all the curvèd spans of hours that fleet.
But ever the springs their carols repeat,
The waters continually sing in their sleep
Of the day 
that was today.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2004 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Eduard Mörike (1804 - 1875), "Um Mitternacht"
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This text was added to the website: 2004-09-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 102