Service of the stars | Three stars shine for me day and night

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by Rudolph Baumbach (1840 - 1905)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Sternendienst

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Drei Sterne leuchten mir Tag und Nacht,
Doch nicht am Himmelsbogen.
Drei Sterne haben mich gemacht
Zum eifrigen Astrologen.
Der erste, gülden anzuschau'n,
Erglänzt im blauen Schilde. 
Die andern zwei sind dunkelbraun 
Und lächeln mir gar milde.

Drei Sterne lassen mir keine Ruh
Und halten mich gefangen. 
Nächt ist als vierter mir dazu
Die Venus aufgegangen.
Als fünfter Stern ein Lämpchen brennt,
Das will den Weg mir zeigen. -- 
Hoch über mir am Firmament
Da hängen lauter Geigen.

Confirmed with Spielmannslieder von Rudolf Baumbach, Leipzig, Verlag von A. G. Liebeskind, 1883, p. 13.

Text Authorship:

by Rudolph Baumbach (1840 - 1905), "Sternendienst", appears in Spielmannslieder [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 Erik Meyer-Helmund (1861 - 1932), "Sternendienst", op. 8 no. 3, published 1884 [ voice and piano ], from Spielmannslieder von Rudolf Baumbach, no. 3, Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Service of the stars", copyright © 2020, (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: 2009-09-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 77

Service of the stars

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Three stars shine for me day and night,
But not upon the arch of heaven.
Three stars have made me 
Into the most zealous astrologer.
The first, golden to look upon,
Gleams in a blue constellation.
The other two are dark brown
And smile at me so mildly.

Three stars leave me no peace
And hold me trapped.
Recently at night, as yet fourth one --
Venus has risen for me.
As a fifth star a little lamp burns
That wants to show me the way. --
High above me in the firmament
Everything is rosy.

Translator's note for stanza 2, line 8: The German expression "der Himmel hängt voller Geigen" refers to a state of bliss. Hence, no violins in the translation!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 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 Rudolph Baumbach (1840 - 1905), "Sternendienst", appears in Spielmannslieder
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2020-02-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 94