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Blume duftet im Tal,
Ferne Blume der Kindheit,
Die nur selten dem Träumer
Ihre verborgenen Kelche öffnet
Und das Innre, Abbild der Sonne, zeigt.
Auf den blauen Gebirgen
Wandelt die blinde Nacht,
Überm Schoß das dunkle Gewand gerafft,
Streut sie ziellos und lächelnd
Ihre Gaben, die Träume, aus.
Unten lagern, vom Tag verbrannt,
Schlafende Menschen;
Ihre Augen sind voller Traum,
Seufzend wenden viele das Antlitz
Hin nach der Blume der Kindheit,
Deren Duft sie zärtlich ins Dunkel lockt
Und dem väterlich strengen
Ruf des Tages tröstlich entfremdet.
Rast des Ermüdeten ist’s,
In der Mutter Umarmung zurückzufliehn,
Die mit lässigen Händen
Über das Haar dem Träumenden streicht.
...
Jeder Lauf, ob zur Sonne oder zur Nacht,
Führt zum Tode, führt zu neuer Geburt,
Deren Schmerzen die Seele scheut.
Aber alle gehen den Weg,
Alle sterben, alle werden geboren,
Denn die ewige Mutter
Gibt sie ewig dem Tag zurück.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Note: the text above is taken from lines 1-22,36-42 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Walther Aeschbacher (1901 - 1969), "Die Nacht", published 1953, lines 1-22,36-42 [ soprano, alto, four-part women's chorus, and strings ]
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Nacht", written 1917, first published 1917
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La nit", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Night", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La nuit", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-30
Line count: 42
Word count: 225
A flower perfumes the valley,
The distant flower of childhood,
Which only rarely opens
Its hidden calyx to the dreamer,
And shows its interior, image of the sun.
Upon the blue mountains
The blind night wanders,
With her dark garment snatched up over her lap,
She aimlessly and smilingly scatters
Her gifts -- the dreams.
Below lie, burned by the day,
Sleeping people;
Their eyes are full of dreams,
Sighing, many of them turn their faces
Toward the flower of childhood,
Whose scent delicately entices them into the darkness
And comfortingly estranges them
From the patriarchal, stern call of the day.
It is the rest of the weary
To flee back to the embraces of one’s mother,
Who with idle hands
Strokes the hair of the dreamer.
...
Every course, whether to the sun or to the night,
Leads to death, leads to new birth,
The pains of which the soul tries to evade.
But all walk that pathway,
All die, all are born,
For the eternal mother
Eternally gives them back to the day.
Note: the text above is taken from lines 1-22,36-42 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Nacht", written 1917, first published 1917
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-30
Line count: 42
Word count: 260