Lange hab ich nun dem Regenlied gelauscht,
Tagelang und viele Nächte lang,
Wie es schwebend hängt und träumend rauscht,
Eingehüllt in ewig gleichen Klang.

Ähnlich klang mir einst im fernsten Reich
Der Chinesen gleitende Musik,
Heimchendünn und hoch und ewig gleich,
Doch voll Reiz in jedem Augenblick.

Regenrauschen und Chinesenlied,
Wasserfallmusik und Meeresklang,
Welche Macht ist's, die mich wieder zieht
Euren Zaubern nach die Welt entlang?

Eure Seele ist der ewige Ton,
Der nicht Zeit und der nicht Wechsel kennt,
Dessen Heimat wir vorzeit entflohn,
Dessen Nachklang uns im Herzen brennt.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, 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, page 247.

Text Authorship:

• by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Regenzeit", written 1918 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Richard Maux (1893 - 1971), "Regenzeit", op. 283 (1934), published 1936 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Fried Walter (1907 - 1996), "Regenzeit ", 1977 [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Sechs Lieder aus dem Tessin durch die Jahreszeiten, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The rainy season", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le temps de la pluie", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-03-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 91

Long have I now listened to the song of the rain,
Throughout many days and throughout many nights,
How it hoveringly hangs and dreamily rushes,
Shrouded in an eternally unchanging sound.

Similarly once in the farthest kingdom there sounded for me
The floating music of the Chinese,
Thin as the song of crickets, and high and eternally the same,
But full of allurement in every moment.

The rushing of rain and Chinese song,
The music of the waterfall and the sound of the sea,
What power is it that again draws me
Toward your magic throughout the world?

Your soul is the eternal sound
That knows neither time nor change,
From whose homeland we fled long ago,
Whose lingering sound burns within our hearts.