Die Bäume tropfen vom Gewitterguß,
Im nassen [Laub glänzt Mondlicht kühlvertraut]1,
Vom Tal herauf der unsichtbare Fluß
Tönt dunkel her mit ruhelosem Laut.
Jetzt im Gehöfte schlagen Hunde an --
O Sommernacht und halbverhangene Sterne,
Wie reißt es mir auf eurer bleichen Bahn
Das Herz hinaus in Reiserausch und Ferne!
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• P. Escher Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 250.
1 Escher: "Land glänzt Mondlicht kühl vertraut"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Peter Escher (1915 - 2008), "Sommernacht", op. 15 no. 17 (1945) [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder nach Hermann Hesse, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans-Hermann Kurig (1914 - 2002), "Sommernacht", 1950 [ high voice and piano ], from Zwei Gesänge für eine hohe Stimme nach Worten von Hermann Hesse, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Leicht (b. 1899), "Sommernacht ", 1952 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Sommernacht", op. 44 (Zehn Lieder nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse) no. 8 (1929), published 1931 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Summer night", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: John Versmoren , Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 51
The trees drip from the downpour of the storm,
In the wet [foliage]1 the moonlight gleams coolly familiar,
Up from the valley the invisible river
Sounds darkly hither with a restless sound.
Now in the grange dogs begin to bark –
Oh summer night and half-veiled stars,
How my heart is wrenched upon your pale pathway
In the intoxication of travel and distance!