Over there! | I know a little chamber, silent and deep

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 (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ich kenne ein Kämmerlein still und tief

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ich kenne ein Kämmerlein still und tief, 
Wo Mancher schon schläft, wo Mancher schon schlief, 
Wo Jeder noch schlafen wird ohne Traum, --
Ja, schlafen ohne Odem im engen Raum. 

Da unten im Kämmerlein brennet kein Licht, 
Da leuchtet nur blaß des Schläfers Gesicht, 
Da schlägt keine Glocke, kein Puls, kein Herz, 
Da schwärmt keine Freude, da weinet kein Schmerz. 

Doch oben im Grase, da flüstert und weht 
Ein Wort, das die gläubige Seele versteht, 
Und auch auf dem Kreuzlein erschaut man das Wort 
Und Alles umfaßt es, -- es heißet ja: "dort!"

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Pharus am Meere des Lebens. Anthologie für Geist und Herz aus den Werken deutscher und ausländischer Schriftsteller älterer und neuerer Zeit, Nach den Materien alphabetisch geordnet und herausgegeben von Carl Contelle, Band II, Sechste Auflage, Iserlohn: Verlag von J. Bädeker, 1879, pages 470-471.

Text Authorship:

by (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), no title [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 Heinrich Christoph Theodor Behrens (1808 - 1873), "Dort!", op. 10 (Gesänge und Lieder für Bass oder Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1842 [ bass or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Over there!", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-04-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 91

Over there!

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I know a little chamber, silent and deep,
Where many a person already sleeps, where many a person already slept,
Where everyone shall yet sleep without dreams, --
Yes, sleep without breathing in a confined space.

Down there in the chamber no light glows,
Only the sleeper's face glows palely,
No bell tolls there, no pulse, no heart beats,
No joy rhapsodizes, no pain weeps there.

But above in the grass a single word whispers
And wafts, a word that the believer's soul understands,
And also upon the little cross one espies the word --
And it encompasses everything -- for it is: "over there!"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 by Sharon Krebs, (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) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-04-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 102