Nachtgedanken
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG ITA
Euch bedaur' ich, unglücksel'ge Sterne,
Die ihr schön seid und so herrlich scheinet,
Dem bedrängten Schiffer gerne leuchtet,
Unbelohnt von Göttern und von Menschen:
Denn ihr liebt nicht, kanntet nie die Liebe!
Unaufhaltsam führen [ew'ge]1 Stunden
Eure Reihen durch den weiten Himmel.
Welche Reise habt ihr schon vollendet!
Seit ich, weilend in dem Arm der Liebsten,
Euer und der Mitternacht vergessen.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• J. Suder View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Gedichte von Goethe, Dritte Auflage, Berlin: G. Grote'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1873, page 301.
1 Suder: "ewige"
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 Selmar Bagge (1823 - 1896), "Nachtgedanken", op. 18 (Sechs Gedichte von Goethe für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1885 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Frommer (1868 - 1914), "Nachtgedanken", op. 38 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1, published 1899 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig: J. Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hermann Franz Graener (1872 - 1944), "Nachtgedanken", op. 94 (Vier Lieder zu Gedichten von Goethe) no. 2, published 1932 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Margarete Schweikert (1887 - 1957), "Nachtgedanken", op. 11 (Vier Gedichte von Goethe) no. 3 (1916?), published 1918 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Suder (1892 - 1980), "Nachtgedanken", 1916, rev. 1969 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Winfried (Petrus Ignatius) Zillig (1905 - 1963), "Nachtgedanken", 1941 [ female voice and piano or orchestra ], from Zehn Lieder nach Gedichten von Goethe, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Nighttime thoughts", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Pensieri notturni", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Sharon Krebs
[Senior Associate Editor]This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 62
Nighttime thoughts
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
I am sorry for you, unfortunate stars,
You who are beautiful and shine so gloriously,
Who gladly gleam for the hard-pressed sailor,
Unrewarded by gods and by people:
For you do not love, you never knew love!
Inexorably, eternal hours lead
Your ranks through the broad heavens.
What a journey you have already completed
Since I, lingering in the arms of my beloved,
Forgot about you and about midnight!
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:
This text was added to the website: 2020-03-06
Line count: 10
Word count: 69
