If it were dark, I would lie in the forest

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Nachts im Walde

(Sung text for setting by F. Gumbert)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG FRE

  Wär's dunkel, ich läg' im Walde,
Im Walde rauscht's so sacht,
Mit ihrem Sternenmantel
Bedeckt mich da die Nacht,
Da kommen die Bächlein gegangen,
Ob ich schon schlafen thu'?
Ich schlaf' nicht, ich hör' noch lange
Den Nachtigallen zu,
Wenn die Wipfel über mir rauschen,
Es klinget die ganze Nacht,
Das sind im Herzen die Gedanken,
Die singen, wenn niemand wacht.

Composition:

Ferdinand Gumbert

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe, in Die Einsame, no. 3

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Jakob Kellner) , "The lonely girl", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "S'il faisait noir, je serais allongée dans la forêt", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Jakob Kellner , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

If it were dark, I would lie in the...

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Gumbert)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  If it were dark, I would lie in the forest,
In the forest there is such a gentle soughing,
With its starlit mantle
Night covers me there,
The brooklets come along, asking
If I am already asleep?
I am not sleeping, for a long time yet
I listen to the nightingales,
When the treetops sough above me,
There is a sound the whole night long,
Those are the thoughts in my heart,
They sing when no one is awake.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Die Einsame" = "The solitary one"
"Die Einsame II" = "The solitary one II"
"Nachts im Walde" = "At night in the forest"
"Waldesstimmung" = "Forest ambiance"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe, in Die Einsame, no. 3
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This text was added to the website: 2022-04-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 81