by
Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)
Du dunkle Nacht, du dunkles Herz
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE
Du dunkle Nacht, du dunkles Herz,
Wer spiegelt eure heiligsten Gründe,
Und eurer Bosheit letzte Schlünde?
Die Maske starrt vor unsrem Schmerz -
Vor unsrem Schmerz, vor unsrer Lust
Der leeren Maske steinern Lachen,
Daran die irdnen Dinge brachen,
Und das uns selber nicht bewußt.
Und steht vor uns ein fremder Feind,
Der höhnt, worum wir sterbend ringen,
Daß trüber unsre Lieder klingen
Und dunkel bleibt, was in uns weint.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-10-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 70
You deep dark night, you deep dark heart
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
You deep dark night, you deep dark heart;
who mirrors your most sacred valleys,
and your venom’s hindmost chasms?
The mask is frozen with our pain -
with our pain, with our lust
the empty mask’s granite-like laughter,
on which the earthen things were breaking,
and which we are oblivious to.
Before us there’s an unknown foe,
who scoffs at what we dying struggle,
so that our songs sound even sadder
and that, what weeps in us, stays dark.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2016-10-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 79