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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Translation © by Laura Prichard

Der Bräutigam
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Um Mitternacht, ich schlief, im Busen wachte
Das liebevolle Herz, als wär es Tag;
Der Tag erschien, mir war als ob es nachte -
Was ist es mir, so viel er bringen mag?

Sie fehlte ja; mein emsig Tun und Streben
Für sie allein ertrug ichs durch die Glut
Der heißen Stunde; welch erquicktes Leben
Am kühlen Abend! lohnend war's und gut.

Die Sonne sank, und Hand in Hand verpflichtet
Begrüßten wir den letzten Segensblick,
Und Auge sprach, in's Auge klar gerichtet:
Von Osten, hoffe nur, sie kommt zurück!

Um Mitternacht! der Sterne Glanz geleitet
Im holden Traum zur Schwelle, wo sie ruht.
O sei auch mir dort auszuruhn bereitet,
Wie es auch sei, das Leben, es ist gut!

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Bräutigam" [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 Hermann Karl Josef Zilcher (1881 - 1948), "Der Bräutigam", op. 51 no. 4, published 1923 [voice and piano], from Goethe-Lieder, no. 4. [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Winfried (Petrus Ignatius) Zillig (1905 - 1963), "Der Bräutigam", 1941 [female voice and piano or orchestra], from Zehn Lieder nach Gedichten von Goethe, no. 5. [
     text not verified 
    ]

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

  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , title 1: "The bridegroom", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 118

The bridegroom
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
At midnight, [as] I slept, in [my] breast [lay] awake
my devoted heart, as if it were day;
Day broke, [but] it seemed to me as if it were nighttime -
What’s it to me, [if] the day brings all this?

Yes, she was missing; [all] my diligent efforts and intentions [have been]
For her alone, I’ve endured through the heat
Of the hottest hours [of the day]; [but] what a refreshing life [was possible]
In the cool evening: it was rewarding and good.

The sun set, and bound [together] hand in hand
We welcomed a last view of benediction,
And looking directly into each other’s eyes, said:
From the East, I hope at least, it will rise again!

At midnight, the star's light leads [me]
In a lovely dream to the threshold, [of the place] where she rests.
Oh, let me also prepare to rest there!
However else life seems, this is good!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Bräutigam"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-04-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 153

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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