Prayer to Life | Truly, thus a friend loves a friend

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Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Gebet an das Leben

Language: German (Deutsch) after the German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG LIT

Gewiß, so liebt ein Freund den Freund
wie ich dich liebe, rätselvolles Leben!
Ob ich in dir gejauchzt, geweint, 
ob du mir Leid, ob du mir Lust gegeben, 
ich liebe dich mit deinem Glück und Harme,
und wenn du mich vernichten mußt, 
entreiße ich schmerzvoll mich deinem Arme,
gleich wie der Freund der Freundesbrust.

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Lou (Louise) von Andreas-Salomé (1861 - 1937), "Lebensgebet"
- Go to the text page.

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

by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), "Gebet an das Leben", NWV 41 (1882) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Prayer to Life", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Malda gyvenimui", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: John Versmoren

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 54

Prayer to Life

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Truly, thus a friend loves a friend
As I love you, enigmatic life!
Whether I rejoiced in you, wept,
Whether you brought me sorrow, whether you brought me joy,
I love you with your happiness and grief,
And when you must destroy me,
I shall tear myself painfully from your arms,
Just as a friend [tears himself] from the bosom of a friend.

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 Not Applicable [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Lou (Louise) von Andreas-Salomé (1861 - 1937), "Lebensgebet"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-12-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 63