The beautiful star | A star I have seen

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by Ludwig Bechstein (1801 - 1860)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Einen Stern hab' ich gesehen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Einen Stern hab' ich gesehen
Ueber Deinem Haus stehen,
O wie war der Stern so schön!
Herrlich leuchtend stand er droben,
Strahlen flammend, lichtumwoben,
In den ewig reinen Höhn!

Lange hat mein Blick gehangen
An des Sternes heilgem Prangen,
Und ich dacht' an Dich allein.
In das Dunkel meiner Schmerzen
Fiel ein Strahl aus Deinem Herzen,
Feuriger wie Sternenschein.

War es Dein Stern, der dort glühte,
Eine goldne Aetherblüthe?
Ach so schön, und ach so fern!
Nicht die Blüthe darf ich pflücken,
Nicht mit ihr mein Leben schmücken,
Nicht mit Dir, Du schöner Stern!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Taschenbuch der Liebe und Freundschaft gewidmet 1837, ed. Dr. Stephan Schütze, Frankfurt am Main: Friedrich Wilmans, 1837, page 101.

Text Authorship:

by Ludwig Bechstein (1801 - 1860), no title, appears in Lieder junger Liebe, no. 4 [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 Eduard August Grell (1800 - 1886), "Der schöne Stern", op. 14 (Fünf Lieder) no. 4, published 1837 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Trautwein [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The beautiful star", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-02-17
Line count: 18
Word count: 94

The beautiful star

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A star I have seen
In the sky above your house,
Oh how beautiful was that star!
Gloriously shining up there,
Flamingly beaming, light-surrounded,
In the eternally pure heights!
 
Long my gaze hung
Upon the holy resplendence of the star,
And I thought only of you.
In the darkness of my pains
A beam from your heart fell,
More fiery than starlight.
 
Was it your star, that was glowing there,
A golden blossom of the aether?
Ah, so lovely and ah, so far away!
I am not permitted to pick the blossom,
Not to adorn my life with it,
Not with you, you beautiful star!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 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 Ludwig Bechstein (1801 - 1860), no title, appears in Lieder junger Liebe, no. 4
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-08-12
Line count: 18
Word count: 105