The angel | In childhood's early days

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 (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Der Engel

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE HEB ITA NOR NYN RUS SPA

In der Kindheit frühen Tagen 
Hört ich oft von Engeln sagen,
Die des Himmels hehre Wonne
Tauschen mit der Erdensonne,

Daß, wo bang ein Herz in Sorgen
Schmachtet vor der Welt verborgen,
Daß, wo still es will verbluten,
Und vergehn in Tränenfluten,

Daß, wo brünstig sein Gebet
Einzig um Erlösung fleht,
Da der Engel niederschwebt,
Und es sanft gen Himmel hebt.

Ja, es stieg auch mir ein Engel nieder,
Und auf leuchtendem Gefieder
Führt er, ferne jedem Schmerz,
Meinen Geist nun himmelwärts!

Text Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [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 Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883), "Der Engel", WWV 91 no. 1 (1857), published 1862 [ female voice and piano or orchestra ], from Wesendonck-Lieder, no. 1, Mainz, Schott, also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Victor Wilder (1835 - 1892) ; composed by Richard Wagner.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L'àngel", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The angel", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "L'ange", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HEB Hebrew (עברית) [singable] (Hamutal Atariah) , "המלאך", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "L'angelo", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "L' angelo"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Engelen", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Engelen", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "Ангел", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "El ángel", copyright © 2021, (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: 82

The angel

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

In childhood's early days,
I often heard them speak of angels
Who would exchange Heaven's sublime bliss
For the Earth's sun

So that, when an anxious heart in dread
Is full of longing, hidden from the world;
So that, when it wishes silently to bleed
And melt away in a trickle of tears;

So that, when its prayer ardently
Pleads only for release,
Then the angel floats down
And gently lifts it to Heaven.

Yes, an angel has come down to me,
And on glittering wings
It leads, far away from every pain,
My soul now heavenward!

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 (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)
- Go to the text page.

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