Life of shadows | It is silent where the graves are

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by Friedrich Hermann Frey (1839 - 1911), as Martin Greif

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Schattenleben

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Still ist's, wo die Gräber sind
Meiner Liebe,
Nur bisweilen klagt der Wind
Bang und trübe.

Seh' die Schattenwelt auf Erden
Rings vergeh'n,
Fühle alles spurlos werden
Und verweh'n.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Hermann Frey (1839 - 1911), as Martin Greif, "Schattenleben", appears in Gedichte, in Lieder [author's text not yet checked 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 Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "Schattenleben", 1904-5 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, Vol. I (1901-04), no. 19 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Alexander von Fielitz (1860 - 1930), "Schattenleben", op. 67 (Sechs Gedichte für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1897 [ medium voice and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
by (Karl) Emil Kauffmann (1836 - 1909), "Schattenleben", op. 20 (Fünf Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1899 [ medium voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Zumsteeg [sung text not yet checked]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "Vida d'ombres", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , "Life of shadows", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Vie de fantôme", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Jeroen Scholten

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 29

Life of shadows

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

It is silent where the graves are
Of my love,
Apart from the laments of the wind,
Frightened and sad.

I see the world of shadows here on Earth
Faded all about,
And feel that everything is becoming indistinct
And drifting away.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Friedrich Hermann Frey (1839 - 1911), as Martin Greif, "Schattenleben", appears in Gedichte, in Lieder
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2020-02-02
Line count: 8
Word count: 42