Liegt eine Stadt im Tale,
ein blasser Tag vergeht;
es wird nicht [lange dauern mehr]1,
bis weder Mond noch Sterne
[nur Nacht]2 am Himmel steht.

Von allen Bergen drücken
Nebel auf die Stadt;
es dringt kein Dach, [nicht]3 Hof noch Haus,
kein Laut aus ihrem Rauch heraus,
kaum Türme noch und Brücken.

[Doch]4 als [den]5 Wandrer graute,
da ging ein Lichtlein auf im Grund;
und [durch den]6 [Rauch und Nebel]7
begann [ein leiser Lobgesang]8
aus Kindermund.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Richard Dehmel Hundert ausgewählte Gedichte, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1909, page 110.

¹ Mahler: "lang mehr dauern"
² Thuille: "nur noch Nacht"
³ Thuille: "kein"
⁴ Pfitzner: "und"
⁵ Mahler: "der"; Thuille "dem"
⁶ Mahler, Thuille: "aus dem"
⁷ Thuille: "Rauch, dem Nebel"
⁸ Mahler: "ein Lobgesang"

Authorship

• by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Die stille Stadt" [author's text checked 2 times 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 Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (1861 - 1911), "Die stille Stadt", op. 90 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2, published <<1905 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, C. F. Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Willy Burkhard (1900 - 1955), "Die stille Stadt", op. 26 (Fünf Gesänge nach Gedichten von Richard Dehmel) no. 4 (1930) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Hermann Franz Graener (1872 - 1944), "Die stille Stadt", published 1930 [ men's chorus ], from Drei Nocturnes, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alma Mahler (1879 - 1964), "Die stille Stadt", 1900-1?, from Fünf Lieder, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hans Erich Pfitzner (1869 - 1949), "Die stille Stadt", op. 29 no. 4 (1921) [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Die stille Stadt", op. 50 (Sechs Gesänge (Six Songs)) no. 5 (1906) [ voice and piano ], also set in Finnish (Suomi) [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hermann Suter (1870 - 1926), "Die stille Stadt", op. 12 (3 Lieder für Tenor mit Klavier) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 - 1907), "Die stille Stadt", op. 12 (Drei Gesänge) no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Felix Wolfes (1892 - 1971), "Die stille Stadt", 1951 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Henri Zagwijn (1878 - 1954), "Die stille Stadt", 1915, published 1950 [ mezzo-soprano, flute, string trio, harp ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in Finnish (Suomi), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Jean Sibelius.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The silent town", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Hiljainen kaupunki", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La ville calme", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Jakob Kellner , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 76

A town lies in the valley,
a pallid day fades;
it will not be long now
before neither moon nor stars
but only [night]1 will be seen in the sky.

From all the mountains
fog presses down upon the town;
no roof may be discerned, no yard nor house,
no sound penetrates through the smoke,
barely even a tower or a bridge.

[But]2 as the traveller became filled with dread
a little light shone out;
and [through the]3 [smoke and fog]4
[a quiet song]5 of praise began,
sung by children.