I float | I float as if on an angel's wings

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by Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929)

Translation © by Linda Godry

Ich schwebe wie auf Engelsschwingen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Ich schwebe wie auf Engelsschwingen,
Die Erde kaum berührt mein Fuß,
In meinen Ohren hör' ich's [klingen]¹
Wie der Geliebten Scheidegruß.

Das tönt so lieblich, mild und leise,
Das spricht so zage, zart und rein,
Leicht lullt die nachgeklung'ne Weise
In wonneschweren Traum mich ein.

[Mein Himmel lebt in meinem Busen,
Der droben ist mir Hekuba,
Im Herzen wohnen meine Musen
Und nimmer in Olympia.]²
Mein schimmernd Aug' -- indeß mich füllen
Die süßesten der Melodien, --
Sieht ohne Falten, ohne Hüllen
Mein lächelnd Lieb' vorüberziehn.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• M. Reger • R. Strauss

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Reger: "klagen"
² omitted by Reger and Strauss.

Text Authorship:

by Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929), "Ich schwebe wie..." [author's text checked 1 time 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 Max Reger (1873 - 1916), "Ich schwebe", op. 62 (Sechzehn Gesänge) no. 14 (1901) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Ich schwebe", op. 48 (Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von Otto Julius Bierbaum und Karl Henckell) no. 2 (1900), published 1901 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Fürstner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Linda Godry) , "I float", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Je plane", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Enrico Magnani) , "Io fluttuo", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Walter Riemer

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84

I float

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I float as if on an angel's wings,
my foot hardly touching the ground,
I hear a lament resounding
As if it were my love's farewell.

It resounds, so lovely, gentle and soft,
It speaks to me, so shy, so frail and pure,
The echo of the melody softly lulling
Me into a blissful dream.





My gleaming eye, while basking
In the sweetest of melodies
Watches my smiling love go by
Without any fabric's fold, any wraps.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2007 by Linda Godry, (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 Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929), "Ich schwebe wie..."
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2007-11-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 77