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Drei Sonnen [sah']1 ich am Himmel stehn, Hab' lang' und fest sie angesehn; Und sie auch standen da so stier, Als [könnten]2 sie nicht weg von mir. Ach, meine Sonnen seid ihr nicht! Schaut [Andren]3 doch in's Angesicht! [Ja]4, neulich hatt' ich auch wohl drei: Nun sind hinab die besten zwei. Ging' nur die dritt' erst hinterdrein! Im [Dunkel]5 wird mir wohler sein.
Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Zweites Bändchen. Deßau 1824. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, page 102; and with Deutsche Blätter für Poesie, Litteratur, Kunst und Theater. Herausgegeben von Karl Schall und Karl von Holtei. Breslau 1823, bei Graß, Barth und Comp. No. XLII. 14. März 1823, page 165.
First published in Deutsche Blätter (see above) as no. 6 of the installment of Die Winterreise. Lieder von Wilhelm Müller.
1 Müller (Deutsche Blätter): "seh'"2 Schubert: "wollten"
3 Müller (Deutsche Blätter), and Schubert: "Andern"
4 Schubert (autograph and Neue Gesamtausgabe): "Ach"
5 Müller (Deutsche Blätter): "Finstern"; Schubert: "Dunkeln"
Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Die Nebensonnen", written 1822-23, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 20, first published 1823 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Reiner Bredemeyer (1929 - 1995), "Die Nebensonnen", 1984, first performed 1985 [ baritone, horn, and piano ], from Die Winterreise, no. 20, VEB Deutscher Verlag [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Nebensonnen", op. 89 no. 23, D 911 no. 23 (1827), published 1828 [ voice and piano ], from Winterreise, no. 23, Haslinger
Listen to this song with the Artsconverge Player
 [sung text checked 1 time] - by Johannes (Hans) Wolfgang Zender (b. 1936), "Die Nebensonnen", 1993 [ tenor and small orchestra ], from Schuberts Winterreise, no. 23 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- AFR Afrikaans [singable] (Robert Schall) , "Die bysonne", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Els falsos sols", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , "幻影太阳", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De bijzonnen", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Arthur Rishi) , "The phantom suns", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (David Paley) , "Parhelion", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Sivuauringot", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La parhélie", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRI Frisian [singable] (Pieter Wiersma) , "Sabeare Sinnen", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Max Mader) , "שמשות נלוות", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Gli altri astri", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- KOR Korean (한국어/조선말) [singable] (곽명규 Myung-Kew Kwack) , "환일 (환상태양)", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Gretimos saulės", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Paulo Albuquerque de Noronha) , "Os falsos sóis", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ofer Sheinberg , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 63
I saw three suns in the sky, I stared at them long and hard; And they, too, stood staring As if unwilling to leave me. Ah, but you are not my suns! Stare at others in the face, then: Until recently I, too, had three; Now the best two are gone. But let the third one go, too! In the darkness I will fare better.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Arthur Rishi, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Die Nebensonnen", written 1822-23, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 20, first published 1823
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 65