[Herr]1, den ich tief im Herzen trage, sei du mit mir!
Du Gnadenhort in Glück und Plage, sei du mit mir!
[Im Brand des Sommers, der dem Manne die Wange bräunt, 
Wie in der Jugend]2 [Rosenhage]3 [sei du mit mir;]2 
Behüte mich am Born der Freude vor Übermuth, 
[Und]4 wenn ich an mir selbst verzage, sei du mit mir.
[Gieb deinen Geist zu meinem Liede, daß rein es sei,
Und daß kein Wort mich einst verklage, sei du mit mir.]2 
Dein Segen ist wie Thau den Reben; nichts kann ich selbst, 
Doch daß ich kühn das Höchste wage, sei du mit mir, 
O du mein Trost, du meine Stärke, [mein]5 Sonnenlicht, 
Bis an das Ende meiner Tage [sei]6 du mit mir!

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel. Zweite Periode. Einundzwanzigste Auflage, Stuttgart, Verlag des J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1873, page 69. In other editions, "du" (referring to God) is often capitalized.

Note: in many older editions, the spelling of the capitalized word "über" becomes "Ueber", but this is often due to the printing process and not to rules of orthography, since the lower-case version is not "ueber", so we use "Über".

Modernized spelling would require changing "Übermuth" to "Übermut", "Gieb" to "Gib", "Thau" to "Tau", etc.

¹ Marschner: "Du"
² omitted by Hiller
³ Fehnberger: "Rosentage" ; Marschner: "Rosentagen"; Lachner: "Rosenhain"; omitted by Hiller
⁴ omitted by Lachner
⁵ Marschner: "o du mein"
⁶ Marschner: "O Herr, sei"

Text Authorship:

• by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), "Gebet", appears in Juniuslieder, in Vermischte Gedichte [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 Julius Benedict (1804 - 1885), "Gebet", op. 48 no. 1, published 1852 [ voice and piano ], from Klänge aus dem Westen. Lieder, no. 1, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Jos. Fehnenberger , "Gebet", op. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hans Fleischer (1896 - 1981), "Gebet", op. 65 (5 Gebete für Baß und Orgel) no. 1 (1929) [ bass and organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Georg Eduard Goltermann (1824 - 1898), "Gebet ", op. 39 (Drei Gesänge für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 3, published 1890 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Gebet", op. 46 (Sechs Gesänge für Alt) no. 1, published 1853 [ alto and piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth und Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Robert Kahn (1865 - 1951), "Gebet", op. 75 (45 Lieder für dreistimmigen Chor a capella) no. 42 (1924) [ three-part chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Franz Paul Lachner (1803 - 1890), "Gebet", op. 169 (Neun Gesänge für S., A., T. und B.) no. 5, published 1875 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Forberg [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Gebet", op. 154b (Sechs Gesänge und Lieder für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1851 [ baritone and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag; we have added the letter 'b' to the opus number to distinguish this set from the one assigned the same opus number by another publisher in 1850 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by (Albert Maria) Robert Radecke (1830 - 1911), "Gebet", op. 38 no. 4 [ SATB chorus and piano or harmonium or organ ], from Sechs geistliche Gesänge, no. 4, Berlin, Challier [sung text not yet checked]
• by Moritz Weyermann (1832 - 1888), "Gebet ", op. 16 (Drei geistliche Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Elberfeld, Küpper [sung text not yet checked]

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

• ENG English (John H. Campbell) , "Prayer", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sarah Hoffman) , "Prayer", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Jeffrey Williams) , "Prayer", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , John H. Campbell , Jeffrey Williams [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 121

[Lord]1, whom I carry deep in my heart, be with me.
You haven of grace in happiness and plague, be with me.
In the fire of summer, that tans the cheek of man,
Like in the rosy days of youth, be with me.
Guard me at the fountain of joy from arrogance
and when I despair of myself, be with me.
Give your spirit to my song, that it may be pure,
And that no word shall ever be against me; be with me.
Your blessing is like dew on the vines, I can't do anything myself;
But that I boldly dare the highest, be with me.
O you, my comfort, you my strength, [my]3 sunshine,
Until the end of my days [be]3 with me!