by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941)
Translation by Gracia Grindal (b. 1943)
Ingen stund är såsom denna
Language: Swedish (Svenska)
Our translations: GER
Ingen stund är såsom denna, kvällens sista, tysta timma. Inga sorger längre bränna, inga stämmor mera stimma. Tag då nu i dina händer denna dagen som förflutit. Visst jag vet: i gott du vänder vad jag hållit eller brutit. Ont jag tänker, ont jag handlar, men du läker allt och renar. Mina dagar du förvandlar så från grus till ädla stenar. Du får lyfta, du får bära, jag kan bara allting lämna. Tag mig, led mig, var mig nära! Ske mig vad du sen må ämna!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941), "Aftonbön", written 1922, appears in Moln [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 Helga Josefine Åhl (1896 - 1981), "Aftonbön" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Urban Dahlberg (b. 1955), "Aftonbön" [ mixed chorus ], from Nya vägar - en körsvit om Karin Boye, Notfabriken
Publisher: Gehrmans [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Margit Edling , "Aftonbön" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ejnar Eklöf (1886 - 1954), "Aftonbön", published 1951 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Egil Hovland (b. 1924), "Karin Boyes Aftonbön" [ women's chorus ], Wessmans musikförlag
Publisher: Gehrmans [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Anna-Karin Klockar (b. 1960), "Aftonbön", copyright © 2017 [ mixed chorus ], Gehrmans
Publisher: Gehrmans [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Ingunn Ligaarden (b. 1977), "Aftonbön" [ women's chorus or men's chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustaf Martinson , "Aftonbön", 2015 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gustaf Nordqvist (1886 - 1949), "Aftonbön", 1942/1945, published 1946 [ voice and piano ], from Varde ljus, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jan Wallgren (1935 - 1996), "Aftonbön", 1992 [ soprano and string quartet ], from Karins sånger, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Gracia Grindal (b. 1943) ; composed by Egil Hovland.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Abendgebet", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2018-11-20
Line count: 16
Word count: 86
Evening Prayer
Language: English after the Swedish (Svenska)
Now I lay me down in silence, In this still and quiet hour. Sorrow’s hold on me is fading , Clamoring voices lose their power. Take this day which now is ended. Let me rest until tomorrow, For I know that you can finish What I found of joy or sorrow. All my harmful thoughts and actions, Heal and make them new and wholesome. Take my days and make them over. Come, transform their dust to diamond. Lift them up and bear them from me, I will leave them in your keeping. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Let me rest as I am sleeping!
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941), "Aftonbön", written 1922, appears in Moln
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Egil Hovland (b. 1924), "Evening Prayer" [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-01-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 106