by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation Singable translation by Hilda von Siller (1861 - 1945)

Königskind
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
Wenn alle Nachbarn schlafen gangen
Und alle Fenster dunkel sind,
Bin ich noch wach mit heißen Wangen,
Das heimatlose Königskind.

Dann schmück ich mich mit Purpurträumen,
Mit Gürtel, Krone und Geschmeid,
Dann rauscht mit goldverbrämten Säumen
Um meine Knie das Königskleid.

Und meine Seele reckt sich mächtig
In Lust und Sehnsucht, stark und bleich,
Und schafft sich stumm und mitternächtig
Ein mondbeglänztes Heimwehreich.

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.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 32-33.


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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Fill de rei", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Royal child", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Enfant de roi", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 63

Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
When all the world's asleep and peaceful,
And every house in darkness still,
Awake I dream with fevered fancy,
A princess seeking realm and home.

I deck myself in purple regal,
With girdle, crown and jewels rare;
Then falls in rustling gold-edged splendor
In stately folds my royal robe.

And my expanding soul awakens
In joy and longing deep and strong,
And weaves in silent mystic moonbeams
My fancy's realm, a princely throne.

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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-04-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 73