Die du über die Sterne weg
  Mit der geleerten Schale
[Aufschwebst]1, um sie [am ew'gen Born]2
  [Eilig]3 wieder zu füllen:
Einmal schwenke sie noch, o Glück,
  Einmal, lächelnde Göttin!
Sieh, ein einziger Tropfen hängt
  Noch verloren am Rande,
Und der einzige Tropfen genügt,
  Eine himmlische Seele,
Die hier unten in Schmerz erstarrt,
  Wieder in Wonne zu lösen.
Ach! sie weint dir [süßeren]4 Dank,
  Als die [anderen]5 alle,
Die du glücklich und reich gemacht;
  Laß ihn fallen, den Tropfen!

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Hebbels Werke, Erster Teil, Gedichte -- Mutter und Kind, herausgegeben und mit einem Lebensbild versehen von Theodor Poppe, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., [1908], pages 127-128

¹ Brückler: "Aufsteigst"
² Brückler: "aus ewigem Borne"
³ Brückler: "Eiligst"
⁴ Brückler: "süßern", Pfitzner, Reger: "süßrern"
⁵ Brückler: "andern"; Pfitzner, Reger: "andren"

Text Authorship:

• by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863), "Gebet", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Vermischte Gedichte [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 Eduard Behm (1862 - 1946), "Gebet", op. 8 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Raabe & Plothow  [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Gebet", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1892 [ medium voice and piano ], published without an opus number in 1892 by Schott (Mainz); published in 1896 by Kistner (Leipzig) with an opus number  [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hugo Brückler (1845 - 1871), "Gebet", published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text checked 1 time]
• by (Friedrich) August Bungert (1845 - 1915), "Gebet an die Glücksgöttin", op. 8 no. 3, published 1876 [ baritone or alto and piano ], from Oden für Bariton oder Altstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 3, Berlin, Luckhardt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Walter Courvoisier (1875 - 1931), "Gebet", op. 16 (Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hans Fleischer (1896 - 1981), "Gebet", op. 65 (5 Gebete für Baß und Orgel) no. 2 (1929) [ bass and organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Kahn (1865 - 1951), "Gebet", op. 22 (Acht Lieder) no. 5 (1895), published 1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Kahn (1865 - 1951), "Gebet", op. 77 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 1 [ women's chorus a cappella (op. 77a) or with piano (op. 77b) ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hans Erich Pfitzner (1869 - 1949), "Gebet", op. 26 (5 Lieder) no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Max Reger (1873 - 1916), "Gebet", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1 (1890-1) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alexander Ritter (1833 - 1896), "Gebet", op. 5 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1881 [ voice and piano ], Dresden, Ries [sung text not yet checked]
• by Max Seifriz (1827 - 1885), "Gebet", op. 6 (Vier Gedichte für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 1, published 1877 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "Gebet", op. 21 (Drei Lieder) no. 1, published 1909 [ voice and piano ], Wien (Vienna): Schuberthaus-Verlag [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ernst Edward Taubert (1838 - 1934), "Gebet", op. 45 (Drei Lieder) no. 1, published 1890 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Jakob Kellner , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 78

You who [float]1 upward beyond the stars
  With the emptied bowl,
In order to fill it anew [with haste]2:
  [At]3 the eternal wellspring,
Shake it just once more, oh Fortune,
  Once more, smiling goddess!
Lo, a single droplet still hangs
  Lost along the rim.
And that single droplet suffices
  To release one heavenly soul,
Which down here is frozen in anguish,
  [To release it] once more into joy.
Ah, it shall weep sweeter gratitude to you
  Than all the other souls
Whom you have made happy and wealthy;
  Let it fall, the droplet!