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Wir ruhen, vom Wasser gewiegt, Im Kreise vertraulich und enge; Durch Eintracht wie Blumengehänge Verknüpft und in Reihen gefügt; Uns sondert von lästiger Menge Die Flut, die den Nachen umschmiegt. So gleiten, im Raume vereint, Wir auf der Vergänglichkeit Wellen, Wo Freunde sich innig gesellen Zum Freunde, der redlich es meint! Getrost, weil die dunkelsten Stellen Ein Glanz aus der Höhe bescheint. Ach! trüg' uns die fährliche Flut Des Lebens so friedlich und leise! O drohte nie Trennung dem Kreise, Der sorglos um Zukunft hier ruht! O nähm' uns am Ziele der Reise [Elysiums]1 Busen in Hut! Verhallen mag unser Gesang, Wie Flötenhauch schwinden das Leben; Mit Jubel und [Seufzern]2 verschweben Des Daseins zerfließender Klang! Der Geist wird verklärt sich erheben, Wenn Lethe sein Fahrzeug verschlang.
H. Nägeli sets stanzas 1-2, 4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte von J.G. von Salis, Neue Auflage, Zürich: bey Orell Füßli und Compagnie, 1808, pages 111-112.
1 Lang: "Elisiums"2 Harder, Nägeli: "Seufzer"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Lied zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt" [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 Friedrich Adrian Götzloff (d. 1836), "Lied, zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt", c1809 [sung text not yet checked]
- by August Harder (1775 - 1813), "Bey der Wasserfahrt" [ voice and piano ], from Lieder mit Belgleitung des Pianoforte, no. 4, Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Lied zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt", 1830 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Georg Nägeli (1773 - 1836), "Wasserlied", published [1808-13], stanzas 1-2,4 [ mixed chorus and piano ], in Teutonia. Rundgesänge und Liederchöre, Fünfter Heft, song no. 27, Zürich: im Verlage des Autors, pages 94-101 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Friedrich Heinrich Riel (1774 - 1845), "Zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt", published [1809], from Gesänge mit Begleitung des Pianoforte Ihro Majestät der Königin von Preussen in tiefster Ehrfurcht gewidmet von J. F. H. Riel, no. 8, Leipzig: Gedruckt bey Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "Lied (zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt)", published 1793 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Lieder mit Begleitung des Piano-Forte, 7e Sammlung, no. 5, Mainz, Carl Zulehner, No. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2023, (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: 2004-12-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 128
We rest, rocked by the water, In a familiar and close circle; Like hanging flowers, we are united And placed in rows by concord; We are separated from the bothersome crowd By the waters that nestle about our barque. Thus we glide, united in the expanse, Upon the waves of ephemerality, Where friends closely consort with A friend who means honestly by them! Confident, because a radiance from On high shines upon the darkest places. Ah! if only the perilous floodwaters of life Would carry us so peacefully and quietly! Oh, would separation never threaten the circle That rests here so untroubled about the future! Oh, would at the goal of our journey Elysium's bosom take us into its care! The sound of our singing may die away, Life may disappear like the breath of a flute; With rejoicing and sighs the dissolving Sounds of existence may waft away! The spirit shall arise transfigured, When Lethe has engulfed its vessel.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Bey der Wasserfahrt" = "While boating"
"Lied zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt" = "Song to be sung while boating"
"Wasserlied" = "Water-song"
"Zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt" = "To be sung while boating"
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 Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Lied zu singen bei einer Wasserfahrt"
This text was added to the website: 2023-02-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 160