Sailor's song | Night has already opened

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by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schifferlied

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Schon hat die Nacht den Silberschrein
Des Himmels aufgethan:
Nun spült der See den Widerschein
Zu dir, zu dir hinan!
Wach' auf, Marian!

Und in dem Glanze schaukelt sich
Ein leichter dunkler Kahn,
Der aber trägt und schaukelt mich
Zu dir, zu dir hinan!
Wach' auf, Marian!

Ich höre schon den Brunnen gehn
Dem Pförtlein nebenan,
Und dieses hat ein frisches Weh'n
Soeben aufgethan.
Wach' auf, Marian!

Ich fühle, wie die Erde schwellt
Zum Himmel leis hinan;
Nach Liebe dürstet alle Welt --
Mein Schifflein, leg' dich an!
Wach' auf, Marian!

Dies Lied hat mir ein Bursch' gemacht,
Der fuhr in meinem Kahn;
Er hat's für dich und mich erdacht,
Bet für ihn, Marian!
Wach' auf, Marian!

Confirmed with Neuere Gedichte von Gottfried Keller, Zweite vermehrte Auflage, Braunschweig: Druck und Verlag von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1854, pages 18-19.

Text Authorship:

by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890), "Schifferlied", appears in Neuere Gedichte, in Jahreszeiten [author's text checked 2 times 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 Robert von Hornstein (1833 - 1890), "Schifferlied", op. 48 (25 neue Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 8, published 1881 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Kröner [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Trunk (1879 - 1968), "Schifferlied", op. 48 (Sechs Lieder auf Gedichte von Gottfried Keller) no. 6 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Set in a modified version by Wilhelm Baumgartner, Willy Burkhard, Heinrich , Freiherr von Herzogenberg, Alexis Holländer, Hans Huber, Carl Isenmann, Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun, Ernst Křenek, Johannes Pache, Walter Rabl, Othmar Schoeck, Christian Sinding, Hermann Suter, Felix Paul Weingartner.

Go to the text. [ view differences ] ENG

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Sailor's song", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-08-17
Line count: 25
Word count: 116

Sailor's song

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Night has already opened
The silver shrine of heaven,
Now the lake swirls the reflection
Toward you, up to you!
Awake, Marian!

And in the radiance, there rocks
A light, dark-coloured barque;
It, in turn, bears and rocks me 
Toward you, up to you!
Awake, Marian!

I already hear the water-well rippling
Beside the little gate,
And a brisk breeze has just
Opened the little gate.
Awake, Marian!

I feel how the earth quietly
Swells toward heaven;
All the world is thirsting for love --
My little barque, come to your berth!
Awake, Marian!

A lad made this song for me,
He travelled in my barque;
He devised it for you and for me,
Pray for him, Marian!
Awake, Marian!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890), "Schifferlied", appears in Neuere Gedichte, in Jahreszeiten
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-05-28
Line count: 25
Word count: 119