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by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887)
Translation © by John H. Campbell

Gewitternacht
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CHI ENG
Grolle lauter, zürnend Gewitter, 
   Sturmwind, rase, du wilder Geselle, 
Öffne dem Blitz das Wolkengitter, 
   Daß er die schwarze Nacht mir erhelle.  
Tröstlich ist mir, o Himmel, dein Hadern:
Zweifel im Herzen, Zorn in den Adern, 
   Bin ich von meinem Mädchen geschieden, 
            Ohne Kuß und Wort,
            So ging ich fort 
   In die grollende Nacht und suche Frieden.  

Weh! Auf ewig ist mir verloren 
   Jenes selige Glück des Bundes, 
Das ihr Auge mir zugeschworen 
   Und der glühende Hauch des Mundes. 
Träume der Jugend, [wie seid ihr verflogen]1,
Falsch wie die Schwüre habt ihr gelogen! 
   Schneidend fühl' ich durchs Herz mir beben 
            Das Blitzeslicht:
            "Sie liebt mich nicht!"
   Mein Herz ist gebrochen, was soll ich leben? 

Grolle lauter, Gewitterstimme, 
   Flammender Himmel, wild und vermessen
Laß mich eifern mit deinem Grimme, 
   Laß die Kalte mich ewig vergessen!  
Aber du schweigst Im säuselnden Regen 
Wandelt dein Zorn sich, Himmel, in Segen, 
   Thränen der Liebe, o rieselt nieder! 
            Ach! ohne sie
            Genes' ich nie,
   Mädchen, Geliebte, liebe mich wieder. 

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   R. Franz 

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Franz: "ihr seid verflogen"

Text Authorship:

  • by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Gewitternacht", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 33, first published 1848 [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 Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Gewitternacht", op. 8 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 6, published 1846 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , "雷雨之夜", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (John H. Campbell) , "Stormy night", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: John H. Campbell , Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 165

Stormy night
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Rumble louder, angry thunderstorms,
Storm-wind, rage, you wild spirit,
open the clouds for the lightning,
it only brightens the black night for me.
I, o heavens, am comforted by your discord:  
Doubt in my heart, fury in my veins,
I have parted with my love,
without kiss or word,
so I went away
into the rumbling night to seek peace.

Woe! Forever, I have lost
the sweet joy of her devotion,
that her eyes pledged to me
and her mouth breathed promising;
youthful Dreams, you have passed
falsely; like the promises, you have lied.  
I feel stabbed and shaken through the heart
by that lightning bolt:  
she loves me not!
my heart is broken, why should I live?

Rumble louder, thunderous storm,
flaming heavens, thrash and threaten,
let me join in your gloom,
leave me to coldly forget, forever.
But you are silent, in murmuring rain
change your fury to blessing,
Tears of love, o trickle down!
Oh!  Without her 
I can never recover!
O maiden, beloved, love me again!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by John H. Campbell, (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 (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Gewitternacht", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 33, first published 1848
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 170

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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