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Nun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen Ihr sprühtet mir in manchem Augenblicke. O Augen, gleichsam, um [in]1 einem Blicke Zu drängen eure ganze Macht zusammen. Doch ahnt' ich nicht, weil Nebel mich umschwammen, Gewoben vom verblendenden Geschicke, Daß sich der Strahl bereits zur Heimkehr schicke, Dorthin, von wannen alle Strahlen stammen. Ihr wolltet mir mit eurem Leuchten sagen: Wir möchten nah dir [immer]2 bleiben gerne! Doch ist uns das vom Schicksal abgeschlagen. Sieh' [recht]2 uns [an]3, denn bald sind wir dir ferne! Was dir [noch]4 Augen sind in diesen Tagen: In künft'gen Nächten sind es dir nur Sterne.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Mahler: "voll in"
2 omitted by Mahler.
3 Mahler: "nur an"
4 Mahler: "nur"
Authorship:
- by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), no title, appears in Kindertodtenlieder, in Krankheit und Tod [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 Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911), "Nun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen", 1902, from Kindertotenlieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Ara veig bé, per què en certs moments", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Now I see well why with such dark flames", copyright ©
- ENG English [singable] (David Paley) , "Now do I see with what such darkened beacons", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Ora vedo bene perché fiamme così cupe", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Dabar žinau, kodėl liepsna tūžminga", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Paulo Albuquerque de Noronha) , "Agora vejo bem, por que chamas tão escuras", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elena María Accinelli) , "Ahora veo por qué con esas llamas tan oscuras", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 100
Now I see well why with such dark flames your eyes sparkled so often. O eyes, it was as if in one full glance you could concentrate your entire power. Yet I did not realize - because mists floated about me, woven by blinding fate - that this beam of light was ready to be sent home to that place whence all beams come. You would have told me with your brilliance: we would gladly have stayed near you! But it is refused by Fate. Just look at us, for soon we will be far! What to you are only eyes in these days - in future nights shall be stars to us.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), no title, appears in Kindertodtenlieder, in Krankheit und Tod
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 113