Night is no man’s friend

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by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Die Nacht ist keines Menschen Freund

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Die Nacht ist keines Menschen Freund --
Was flüsterst du von Treue?
Der Mond [erblaßt]¹, der Morgen graut . . .
Am Bette sitzt die Reue.

Die Reue ist ein häßlich Weib
Und möcht' mich wohl verderben --
Reiß mir das Herz nicht aus dem Leib,
Ich will ja noch nicht sterben.

Mein Blut ist heiß, dein Mund so süß . . .
O Gott, wie kannst du küssen!
Das hat die Sommernacht gethan,
Daß wir versinken müssen.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• K. Szymanowski

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Neunte Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1900, page 168.

¹ Szymanowski: "verblaßt"

Text Authorship:

by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), "Das hat die Sommernacht gethan", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Nach Jahren, no. 6 [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 Ippisch (1883 - 1958), "Das hat die Sommernacht getan", 1918 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882 - 1937), "Das hat die Sommernacht getan", op. 22 (Bunte Lieder) no. 4 (1910), also set in Polish (Polski) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Stanisław Barącz (1864 - 1936) ; composed by Karol Maciej Szymanowski.

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "C'est la nuit d'été qui l'a fait", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 78

Night is no man’s friend

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Night is no man’s friend --
What do you whisper of faithfulness?
The moon [grows pale]¹, the morning dawns . . .
By my bed sits rue.

Rue is an ugly crone
And would quite like to destroy me --
Do not tear my heart out of my body,
I do not want to die yet.

My blood is hot, your mouth so sweet . . .
Oh God, how you can kiss!
That was wrought by the summer night,
That we must sink into the depths.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Translations of title(s):
"Das hat die Sommernacht getan" = "That was wrought by the summer night"
"Das hat die Sommernacht gethan" = "That was wrought by the summer night"

¹ Szymanowski: "fades"

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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), "Das hat die Sommernacht gethan", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Nach Jahren, no. 6
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-10-24
Line count: 12
Word count: 87