Silberblauer Mondenschein
Fällt herab;
Senkt so manchen Strahl hinein
In [das]1 Grab.

Freund des Schlummers, lieber Mond,
[Schweige]2 nicht,
Ob im Grabe Dunkel wohnt,
Oder Licht!

Alles stumm?! Nun stilles Grab,
Rede du!
Zogst so manchen Strahl hinab
In die Ruh;

Birgst gar manchen [Mondenblick]3,
Silberblau;
Gib nur einen Strahl zurück: -
»Komm und schau!!«

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's Dichtungen. Zweiter Theil. Lieder der Nacht. [...] Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Wien. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger. 1826, page 41; with Lieder der Nacht. Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Zweite, verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage. Wien, 1851. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger's Witwe, pages 50-51; and with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's gesammelte Schriften. Mit einer Einleitung von Julius von der Traun. Herausgegeben von Hans Max. Erster Band. [...] Wien, 1877. Wilhelm Braumüller k.k. Hof- und Universitätsbuchhändler, page 41.

Note: the published poem is preceded by the following quote (1826): " - - - - relata referre!, which becomes the following in the 1851 and 1877 editions: " - - - - relata refer!"

¹ Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions): "manch"
² Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions): "Hehl' es"
³ Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions): "Himmelsblick"

Text Authorship:

• by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Grab und Mond", appears in Lieder der Nacht [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Grab und Mond", D 893 (1826), published 1827 [ ttbb quartet ], Tobias Haslinger, VN 3551, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La tomba i la lluna", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Graf en maan", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "Grave and moon", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La tombe et la lune", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Thierry Morice , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 58

Silver-blue moonshine
Is streaming down;
So many rays of light are sinking
Into the grave.

Friend of sleep, dear moon,
Do not remain silent about
Whether it is darkness that dwells in the grave
Or light!

Not a sound?! Now, silent grave,
You speak!
You pull down so many rays of light 
To rest;

You hide so many of the moon's glances,
Silver-blue;
Just give one ray of light back: - 
"Come and look!!"