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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875)
Translation © by Emily Ezust

Sehnsucht
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA
Die Scheibe friert, der Wind ist rauh,
Der nächt'ge Himmel rein und blau:
Ich sitz' in meinem Kämmerlein
Und schau in's reine Blau hinein!

Mir fehlt etwas, das [fühl']1 ich gut,
Mir fehlt mein Lieb, das treue Blut:
Und will ich in die Sterne sehn,
[Muß stets das Aug mir]2 übergehn!

Mein Lieb, wo weilst du nur so fern,
Mein schöner Stern, mein Augenstern?!
Du weißt, dich lieb' und brauch' ich ja, -
Die Thräne tritt mir wieder nah.

Da quält' ich mich so manchen Tag,
Weil mir kein Lied gelingen mag, -
Weil's nimmer sich erzwingen läßt
[Und]3 frei hinsäuselt, wie der West!

Wie mild mich's wieder grad durchglüht! -
Sieh nur - das ist ja schon ein Lied!
[Wenn mich mein Loos vom Liebchen warf,
Dann fühl' ich, daß ich singen darf.]4

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's Dichtungen. Zweiter Theil. Lieder der Nacht. [...] Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Wien. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger. 1826, page 31; and with Lieder der Nacht. Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Zweite, verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage. Wien, 1851. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger's Witwe, pages 108-109.

1 Seidl (1851 edition): "merk'"
2 Seidl (1851 edition): "Fühl' ich die Augen"
3 Seidl (1851 edition): "Weil's"
1 Seidl (1851 edition): "Muß ich, mein Lieb, dir ferne sein, / Gleich stellt das Lied von selbst sich ein."

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Sehnsucht", appears in Lieder der Nacht [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Sehnsucht", op. 105 (Vier Lieder) no. 4, D 879 (1826), published 1828 [ voice, piano ], Josef Czerny, VN 329, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Nostàlgia", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Hunkering", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Longing", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nostalgie", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Desiderio ardente", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 134

Longing
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
 The window-pane freezes, the wind is rough,
 the night sky is clear and blue.
 I sit in my little room
 and gaze into clear blue.

 Something is lacking, I feel all too well;
 I miss my love, my true life's blood,
 and if I gaze at the stars
 my eyes must overflow with tears.

 My love, where do you tarry so far away,
 my beautiful star, delight of my eyes?
 You know that I love and need you;
 again tears threaten.

 I have suffered for so many days
 and for me no song will come,
 because one cannot force a song
 to murmur forth freely like the west wind.

 How softly does this glow suffuse me now!
 Look - it is a song already!
 Even though my lot was to be cast far from my love,
 I feel now that I can still sing.

Text 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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
    licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Sehnsucht", appears in Lieder der Nacht
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 144

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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