Night | A blind beggar-woman

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by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Eine blinde Bettlerin

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Eine blinde Bettlerin,
Kommt die Nacht herbei geschlichen,
Wartet unter grünen Zweigen,
Bis des Tages Glanz verblichen.
Singt mit ihrer weichen Stimme
Jenen alten, alten Sang,
Der so süß klingt und so bang . . .
In den Büschen klagt der Wind
Um des Tages goldne Freuden,
Die nun blaß geworden sind,
Sterne ziehn in stummer Pracht,
Und die Blumen tief im Grase
Weinen große Kinderthränen,
Und ich selber bin voll Sehnen --
Weiß nicht, was mich traurig macht!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Befreiung. Neue Gedichte, Fünfte Auflage, Stuttgart: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 136.

Text Authorship:

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), no title, appears in Befreiung. Neue Gedichte, in 5. Natur, in 16. Nacht, no. 2 [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 Alexander von Fielitz (1860 - 1930), "Nacht", op. 76 no. 5, published 1901 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Gedichte von Anna Ritter, für eine Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 5, Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Night", copyright © 2024, (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: 2013-07-29
Line count: 15
Word count: 78

Night

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A blind beggar-woman,
The night comes creeping along;
Waiting under the green branches
Until the radiance of the day has faded.
Singing with her soft voice
That old, old song
That sounds so sweet and so anxious . . .
In the bushes the wind laments 
Over the golden joys of the day,
Which have now grown pale;
Stars pass in mute splendour,
And the flowers deep in the grass
Weep huge childlike tears,
And I myself am full of yearning --
I know not what makes me sad!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), no title, appears in Befreiung. Neue Gedichte, in 5. Natur, in 16. Nacht, no. 2
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-01-08
Line count: 15
Word count: 88