You approached the hearth | You approached the hearth

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by Stefan George (1868 - 1933)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ihr tratet zu dem herde

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Ihr tratet zu dem herde
Wo alle glut verstarb ·
Licht war nur an der erde
Vom monde leichenfarb.

Ihr tauchet in die aschen
Die bleichen finger ein
Mit suchen tasten haschen --
Wird es noch einmal schein!

Seht was mit [trostgebärde]¹
Der mond euch rät:
Tretet weg vom herde ·
Es ist worden spät.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• A. Webern

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Stefan George, Werke. Ausgabe in Zwei Bänden, Erster Band, 4. Auflage, Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1984, page 165

¹ Webern: "trostgeberde"

Text Authorship:

by Stefan George (1868 - 1933), no title, appears in Das Jahr der Seele, in Traurige Tänze, no. 28 [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 Hans Fleischer (1896 - 1981), "Ihr tratet zu dem herde", op. 100 (4 Gesänge für Bariton und Orchester) no. 4 (1934) [ baritone and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Ihr tratet zu dem herde" [sung text not yet checked]
by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Ihr tratet zu dem herde", op. 4 (Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von Stefan George) no. 5 (1908-9) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Hubert Schmid , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 55

You approached the hearth

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

You approached the hearth
Where all the glow was dying ·
The only light on the ground
Came from the corpse-coloured moon.

Into the ashes you plunged
Your pale fingers
With seeking scrabbling snatching --
Shall it come alight once more!

See what, with a comforting mien,
The moon advises you to do:
Step away from the hearth ·
It has grown late.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Stefan George (1868 - 1933), no title, appears in Das Jahr der Seele, in Traurige Tänze, no. 28
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-08-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 62