Traurig schau' ich von der Klippe
Auf die Flut, die uns getrennt,
Und mit Inbrunst fleht die Lippe:
Schone seiner, Element!
 
  Furcht ist meiner Seele Meister,
Ach! und Hoffnung schwindet schier;
Nur im Traume bringen Geister
[Kunde vom Geliebten]1 mir.
 
  Die ihr, fröhliche Genossen,
Gold'ner Tag', in Lust und [Scherz]2,
Kummerthränen nie vergossen,
Ach, ihr kennt nicht meinen Schmerz!
 
  Sei mir mild, o nächt'ge Stunde!
[Schlummer zieh' den Vorhang vor!]3
Holde Geister, flüstert Kunde
Vom Geliebten [mir in's Ohr!]4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Robert Burn's Gedichte deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth, 1840, page 94

¹ C. Schumann: "vom Geliebten Kunde"
² Incorrectly given as "Schmerz" in the Breitkopf & Härtel edition of Clara Schumann’s songs published in the early 1990s.
³ C. Schumann: "Auf das Auge senke Ruh"
⁴ C. Schumann: " dann mir zu."

Authorship

• by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Sehnsucht am Strande" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on

• a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Musing on the Roaring Ocean"
  • 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 Carl August Krebs (1804 - 1880), "Sehnsucht am Strande", op. 71, published 1840 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Clara Schumann, née Wieck (1819 - 1896), "Am Strande", 1840, published 1841 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Aïda Raurell) , "A la riba", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Aïda Raurell) , "En la orilla", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 80

Sadly I gaze from the crags
Upon the waters that separate us,
And with fervency my lips plead:
Spare him, elements!
 
Fear is the master of my soul,
Ah, and hope almost vanishes;
Only in dreams do the spirits
Bring me tidings of my beloved.
 
You, my happy comrades
Of golden days in joy and jest,
Who have never shed tears of woe,
Ah, you do not know my pain!
 
Be kind to me, oh nightly hour,
[Slumber, draw the curtains!]1
Lovely spirits, [into my ear]2
Whisper tidings of my beloved!