by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Es nachtet schon, die Straße ruht
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE
Es nachtet schon, die Straße ruht,
Seitab treibt mit verschlafenen Schlägen
Der Strom mit seiner trägen Flut
Der stummen Finsternis entgegen.
Er rauscht in seinem tiefen Bett
So wegverdrossen, rauh und schwer,
Als ob er Lust zu ruhen hätt,
Und ich bin wohl so müd wie er.
Das ist durch Nacht und fremdes Land
Ein traurig Miteinanderziehn,
Ein Wandern stumm und unverwandt
Zu zwein, und keiner weiß wohin.
About the headline (FAQ)
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.
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 120.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2009-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 68
Night falls already, the street rests
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Night falls already, the street rests,
Yonder with sleepy strokes
The river with its sluggish waters
Surges toward the mute darkness.
The river rushes in its deep bed
So disgruntled with its path, rough and heavy,
As if it desired to rest,
And I am surely as weary as it is.
That is a sorrowful communal travelling
Through night and foreign land,
A wandering, mute and in a non-kindred twosome
And no one knows whither.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Nachtwanderung" = "Wandering at night"
"Nachtgang" = "Nighttime walk"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Nachtgang", subtitle: "(1902)", written 1902
This text was added to the website: 2018-05-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 75