by
Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
An die bretterne Schiffswand
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG FRE
An die bretterne Schiffswand,
Wo mein träumendes Haupt liegt,
Branden die Wellen, die wilden Wellen;
Sie rauschen und murmeln
Mir heimlich ins Ohr:
"Betörter Geselle!
Dein Arm ist kurz, [und der Himmel ist weit]1
Und die Sterne [droben sind festgenagelt]2
Mit goldnen Nägeln -
Vergebliches Sehnen, vergebliches Seufzen,
Das beste wäre, du schliefest ein."
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• R. Franz About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Franz: "der Himmel so weit"
2 Franz: "da droben sind fest geschmiedet"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Catharinus Elling (1858 - 1942), "Nachts in der Kajüte. II", op. 12 no. 10 [ voice and piano ], from Catharinus Elling-Album, no. 10, Kjøbenhavn (Copenhagen), Kongelig (Kgl.) Hof-Musikhandel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Auf dem Meere", op. 25 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6, published 1856 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Nachts in der Kajüte II", 1912 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Samuel de Lange (1840 - 1911), "An die bretterne Schiffswand", op. 6 no. 4, published 1871 [ voice and piano ], from Nachts in der Kajüte : ein Liedercyclus von Heinrich, no. 4, Leipzig, Forberg [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Reimann (1850 - 1906), "Auf dem Meere", op. 4 (Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1881 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 55
By the sea
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
At the other side of the wooden wall of the ship
where my dreaming head is lying
the waves are surging, the wild waves;
they are roaring and murmuring
secretly into my ear,
"You bewitched lad.
Your arm is short [the sky so wide]
and the stars [are fastened so securely up there]
with golden nails --
pointless longing, pointless sighing,
it would be best if you fell asleep."
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2005 by Malcolm Wren, (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.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2005-04-11
Line count: 11
Word count: 68