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Nachts auf's Lager hingestreckt In der kleinen dunklen Klause Hör' ich wie die Brandung leckt Über mir am flücht'gen Hause[.] In die Wellen halb versenkt, Höhern Mächten heimgegeben, Ist mein Herz Dir! zugelenkt, Unaussprechlich süßes Leben. Blick' ich in die Nacht hinaus, Kommt, auf [unnahbaren]1 Wegen, Über's Meer durch Nebelgraus Mir dein holdes Bild entgegen[.] Lächlend stehst du auf der Fluth, Und ich seh dich selig winken; Mich durchfiebert Sehnsuchts-Gluth.-- Warum mußt du [schon]2 versinken? Wenn [mit frischem]3 Morgenschein Meer und Luft sich [flüsternd necken]4, Ruft es in mir: Du bist mein! Liebe naht, mich aufzuwecken. Und so wach ich durch den Tag, Darf geschäftig nimmer säumen,-- [Doch]5, was höchstes Glück vermag, Find' ich nur in wachen Träumen. Niemals fern mir, ewig nah, O, du Licht und Glanz des Lebens, Himmlische [Angelica]6, [Sey]7 die Krone meines [Strebens]8.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with the poetry manuscript in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, (Signatur: Martiusiana I, B, 1, 6).
1 Lang (both versions): "unfehlbaren"2 Lang (both versions): "doch"
3 Lang (V2): "im frischen"
4 Lang (V2): "neckend flüstern"
5 Lang (both versions): "Und"
6 Lang (both versions): "Cäcilia"
7 Lang (both versions when text is repeated): "Ist"
8 Lang (both versions): "Lebens"
Text Authorship:
- by Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794 - 1868), no title [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- by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Cäcilia", alternate title: "Lied von Martius Cäcilia", c1835 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-03-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 149
Stretched out upon my bed at night In the small, dark cell, I hear how the surging water slap Above me in [my] transitory shelter[.] Half engulfed by the waves, At the mercy of higher powers, My heart is turned toward You! Unspeakably sweet life. When I gaze out into the night, [I see] Upon [unapproachable]1 paths Over the ocean through the gruesome fog Your lovely image coming toward me[.] Smilingly you stand upon the waters, And I see you beckoning blissfully; I am filled with the feverish blaze of yearning.-- [Why must you already]2 sink away? When [with]3 the brisk radiance of morning Ocean and wind [whisperingly tease each other]4, Something calls out within me: You are mine! Love approaches in order to waken me. And thus I keep awake all through the day, I must never cease in my labours,-- [Yet]5 that which creates the highest happiness I only find in wakeful dreaming. Never far from me, eternally near, Oh, you light and radiance of life, Heavenly [Angelica]6, [Be]7 the crown of my [striving]8.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of title(s):
"Cäcilia" = "Cecilia"
"Lied von Martius Cäcilia" = "Song by Martius[.] Cecilia"
2 Lang (both versions): "But why must you"
3 Lang (V2): "in"
4 Lang (V2): "teasingly whisper"
5 Lang (both versions): "And"
6 Lang (both versions): "Cecilia"
7 Lang (both versions when text is repeated): "Is"
8 Lang (both versions): "life"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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 Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794 - 1868), no title
This text was added to the website: 2023-03-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 187