Tonight it must rill down from all the stars

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by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Heut' Nacht muß es von allen Sternen...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Heut' Nacht muß es von allen Sternen rieseln,
an blassen Fäden muß es niedergleiten,
und alle Bäume schütteln schweren Tau ab.
 
Am finstern Himmel blinkt noch eine Seele,
ein falsches Licht, verstohlen wie ein Vogel,
und schwimmt ins Leere ab und ist verdorben.
 
Und da: ein kalter Wind hat mich getroffen;
sei auf der Hut, sieh' dich nicht um, o Seele,
da steht der Tod und probt die langen Finger.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Nachgelassene Schriften von Walter Calé. Mit einem Vorwort von Fritz Mauthner, herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Arthur Brückmann, Dritte Auflage, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1910, page 74

Text Authorship:

by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), no title, appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Gedichte (1899-1904) [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 Julius Weismann (1879 - 1950), "Heut nacht", op. 81 (Neun Lieder) no. 6 (1917/21) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2016-11-30
Line count: 9
Word count: 70

Tonight it must rill down from all the...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Tonight it must rill down from all the stars,
it must glide downward along pale threads,
and all the trees [must] shake off heavy dew.
 
Upon the dark heavens one soul still blinks,
a false light, as furtive as a bird,
and floats off into the emptiness and is lost.
 
And yonder: a cold wind has struck me;
be wary, look not behind you, oh soul,
there stands Death and flexes his long fingers.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Heut nacht" = "Tonight"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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 Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), no title, appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Gedichte (1899-1904)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-11-30
Line count: 9
Word count: 74