by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887)
An die bretterne Schiffswand
Language: German (Deutsch)
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."
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Franz: "der Himmel so weit"
2 Franz: "da droben sind fest geschmiedet"
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Nordsee, in Erster Zyklus, in 7. Nachts in der Kajüte, no. 5 [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 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- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Nachts in der Kajüte II", 1912 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]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):
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "By the sea", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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
Against the wooden wall of the ship
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Against the wooden wall of the ship
Where my dreaming head reclines,
Break the waves, the wild sea-waves.
They whisper and murmur
Close into mine ear;
"Oh foolish young fellow,
Thine arm is short and the sky is far off,
And the stars are all firmly nailed above
With golden nails.
Vain is thy yearning and vain is thy sighing!
The best thou canst do is to go to sleep."
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887), appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Nordsee, in Erster Zyklus, in 7. Nachts in der Kajüte, no. 5
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-05-05
Line count: 11
Word count: 71