Out of the night that covers me
Language: English
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
About the headline (FAQ)
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 Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "Invictus", 1991 [ voice and piano ], from 4 Victorian Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "Invictus", 1988, first performed 1988 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello ], from 5 Victorian Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bruno Siegfried Huhn (1871 - 1950), "Invictus", published 1910 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marshall Rutgers Kernochan (1880 - 1955), "Unconquered", published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis Alexander Korbay (1846 - 1913), "Out of the night", <<1913, from Album of Five Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Albert Lidgey (d. 1924), "Out of the night", published 1909, from A Song of Life [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl F. Mueller (1892 - 1982), "Invictus", published 1950 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875 - 1958), "Invictus", published 1920 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-07-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 103
Invictus (Unbezwungen)
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Aus dieser Nacht, die mich umhüllt,
von Pol zu Pol schwarz wie das Grab,
dank ich welch immer Gottes Bild
die unbezwung'ne Seel mir gab.
Wenn grausam war des Lebens Fahrt,
habt ihr nie zucken, schrein mich sehn!
Des Schicksals Knüppel schlug mich hart -
mein blut'ger Kopf blieb aufrecht stehn!
Ob zornerfüllt, ob tränenvoll,
ob Jenseitsschrecken schon begann:
das Grauen meines Alters soll
mich furchtlos finden, jetzt und dann.
Was kümmert's, daß der Himmel fern
und daß von Straf' mein Buch erzähl',
ICH bin der Herr von meinem Stern,
ICH bin der Meister meiner Seel'!
Text Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 96