On the quietest feet | Quietly she came on tiptoe

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by Gustav Falke (1853 - 1916)

Translation © by John Glenn Paton

Auf leisesten Sohlen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Leise kam sie, auf den Zehn,
Wie des Nachts die Diebe gehn,
Hob sich zu mir auf und bot
Ihren Mund mir süß und rot. 

Hob zu meinem Nacken frank
Ihrer Arme weich Gerank,
Schmiegte sich so warm und dicht: 
Liebe mich, verstoß mich nicht. 

Und ich hatt' sie nie gesehn.
Wie des Nachts die Diebe gehn,
Wie vom Baum die Blüte sinkt,
Wie ein Stern vom Himmel blinkt,

Wie ein Traum den Träumer neckt,
Hat sich hold mich angeschreckt. 
Liebe kommt auf leisen Zehn, 
Wie des Nachts die Diebe gehn.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• W. Kienzl

W. Kienzl sets stanzas 1, 3, 2, 4

Confirmed with Tanz und Andacht. Gedichte aus Tag und Traum von Gustav Falke, München: E. Albert & Co., 1893, page 69.

Text Authorship:

by Gustav Falke (1853 - 1916), "Auf leisesten Sohlen", appears in Tanz und Andacht. Gedichte aus Tag und Traum [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 Wilhelm Kienzl (1857 - 1941), "Auf leisesten Sohlen", op. 71 no. 6, published <<1905, stanzas 1,3,2,4 [medium voice and piano], from Moderne Lyrik. Zwölf Lieder und Gesänge, no. 6, Leipzig, C. F. Kahnt [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , " On the quietest feet", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "À pas de loup", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website: 2017-08-27
Line count: 16
Word count: 91

On the quietest feet

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Quietly she came on tiptoe,
just as thieves come at night,
raised herself up to me and offered
her mouth to me, sweet and red.

Without restraint she raised to my neck
the soft tendril of her arm,
clung to me so warmly and closely:
“Love me, do not push me away.”

And I had never seen her,
quiet as thieves in the night,
as blossoms fall from the tree,
as a star twinkles from the heavens.

Just as a dream teases the dreamer,
she gave me a lovely scare.
Love comes on quiet tiptoe,
just as thieves come at night.

Note: to use this translation for Kienzl's setting, rearrange the stanzas to 1,3,2,4.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 by John Glenn Paton, (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 Gustav Falke (1853 - 1916), "Auf leisesten Sohlen", appears in Tanz und Andacht. Gedichte aus Tag und Traum
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-10-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 101