To the moon | Silver moon with pale rays

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

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 Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

An den Mond

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Silbermond mit bleichen Strahlen
pflegst du Wald und Feld zu malen,
gibst den Bergen, gibst den Talen 
der Empfindung Seufzer ein.

Sei Vertrauter meiner Schmerzen,
Segler in der Lüfte See:
Sag' ihr, die ich trag' im Herzen,
wie mich tötet Liebesweh.

Sag' ihr, über tausend Meilen
sehne sich mein Herz nach ihr.
»Keine Ferne kann es heilen,
nur ein holder Blick von dir.«

Sag' ihr, daß zu Tod getroffen
diese Hülle bald zerfällt;
nur ein schmeichlerisches Hoffen
sei's, das sie zusammenhält.

Text Authorship:

by Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876), from Gedichte, Leipzig, first published 1844 [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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "An den Mond", op. 71 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 2 (1877), published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "A la lluna", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan de maan", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "To the moon", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À la lune", copyright © 2012, (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: 16
Word count: 81

To the moon

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 Silver moon with pale rays,
 you often paint the forest and field;
 you give the mountains, you give the valleys
 a sigh of feeling.

 Be the confidant of my sorrows,
 sailor on the sea of the air:
 Tell her, whom I carry in my heart,
 how yearning for love is killing me.

 Tell her that over a thousand miles
 my heart pines for her.
 "No distance can heal it,
 only a loving glance from you."

 Tell her that I have been struck mortally
 and my body soon shall fall;
 only a flattering hope
 keeps me together.

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 Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876), from Gedichte, Leipzig, first published 1844
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 97