Hope upon hope passes away

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by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Hoffnung auf Hoffnung geht zu Scheiter

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Hoffnung auf Hoffnung geht zu Scheiter,
Aber das Herz hofft immer weiter;
Wie sich Wog' über Woge bricht,
Aber das Meer erschöpft sich nicht.

  Daß die Wogen sich senken und heben,
Das eben ist des Meeres Leben;
Und das es hoffe von Tag zu Tag,
Das ist des Herzens Wellenschlag.

  Wie zum Himmel des Meeres Schäume
Ringen empor des Herzens Träume;
Und immer Traum aus Traum ersteht,
Wie ewig Schaum in Schaum zergeht.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Deutsche Lyrik, selected and arranged, notes and a literary introduction by A. Buchheim, Third, revised edition, London: MacMillan and Co., 1881, pages 140-141.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Das Meer der Hoffnung" [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 Arthur Claassen (1859 - 1920), "Hoffnung auf Hoffnung geht zu Scheiter", op. 32 (Sechs Männerchöre) no. 2, published 1894 [ ttbb chorus ], Magdeburg: Heinrichshofen Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
by Karl Anton Florian Eckert (1820 - 1879), "Das Meer der Hoffnung", op. 13 (Sieben Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 7, published 1840 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "Das Meer der Hoffnung", op. 16 (8 kleine Lieder für Mezzosopran) no. 5, published 1868 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-04-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 74

Hope upon hope passes away

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Hope upon hope passes away,
But the heart keeps on hoping;
Just as wave breaks upon wave,
But the sea is not exhausted.

  That the waves die down and rise,
That is simply the life of the sea;
And that it hopes from day to day,
That is the beating of the heart’s waves.

  As the foamings of the sea rise toward heaven
Thus the heart’s dreams fight their way upward;
And ever dream arises from dream,
Just as foam eternally dissolves in foam.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Das Meer der Hoffnung" = "The sea of hope"
"Hoffnung auf Hoffnung geht zu Scheiter" = "Hope upon hope passes away"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 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 Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Das Meer der Hoffnung"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2022-03-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 85