[Sahst]1 du ein Glück [vorübergehn]2,
Das nie sich wiederfindet,
Ist's gut in einen Strom zu sehn,
Wo Alles wogt und schwindet.

O, starre nur hinein, hinein,
Du wirst es leichter missen,
Was dir, und soll's dein Liebstes seyn,
Vom Herzen ward gerissen.

Blick' unverwandt hinab zum Fluß,
Bis deine Tränen fallen,
Und sieh durch ihren warmen Guß
Die Flut hinunterwallen.

Hinträumend wird Vergessenheit
Des Herzens Wunde schließen;
Die Seele sieht mit ihrem Leid
Sich selbst vorüberfließen.

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Confirmed with Nicolaus Lenau, Sämmliche Gedichte, herausgegeben von Anastasius Grün, vierter Band, Stuttgart und Augsburg, J. G. Cotta Verlag, 1855, page 355.

¹ Mettenheimer: "Sieh'st"; further changes may exist not shown above.
² Flügel: "vorüberziehn"; further changes may exist not shown above.

Text Authorship:

• by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850), "Blick in den Strom", written 1844, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Sechstes Buch, in Letzte Gedichte, first published 1844 [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• by Ella Georgiyevna Adayevskaya (1846 - 1926), "An den Strom", 1886 [ voice and piano ], unpublished; lost ; may be wrong text for this title (no incipit available) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), "Blick in den Strom", 1964 [ baritone, clarinet and piano ], Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl Banck (1809 - 1889), "Letzter Lebensblick", op. 69 (Dichtungen von Lenau, für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 28, published 1878 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (1861 - 1911), "Blick in den Strom", op. 34 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singst mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1889 [ alto and piano ], Berlin, Ollendorff [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ernst Paul Flügel (1844 - 1912), "Blick in den Strom", op. 6 (Sechs Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte-Begleitung) no. 3, published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Fritzsch (and Leipzig, Eulenburg, 1879) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Freund (1852 - 1936), "Blick in den Strom", op. 4 (5 Songs) no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Adalbert von Goldschmidt (1848 - 1906), "Der Strom", published 1893 [ voice and piano ], from Neue Lieder und Gesänge, no. 10, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Josef Hofmann , "Blick in den Strom", op. 3 (Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1886 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Chmel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl (Friedrich Christian) Mettenheimer (1824 - 1898), "Blick in den Strom", published 1897 [ soprano and piano ], from [Elf] Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, Heft 1. Zwei Lieder für Sopran, no. 1, Hamburg, Leichssenring [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Pfitzner (1858 - ?), "Blick' in den Strom", op. 9 (Drei Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 2, published 1893 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Rud. Dietrich [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Pohl (1826 - 1896), "Blick in den Strom", published 1888 [ contralto or bass and piano ], from Fünf Lieder für Ca. oder B. mit Pianoforte, no. 4, Leipzig, Fritzsch [sung text not yet checked]
• by Benedikt Randhartinger (1802 - 1893), "Blick in den Strom" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Blick in den Strom", JWV 137 no. 5 (1862), published 2019 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Sahst du ein Glück vorübergehn", op. 47 no. 1e (1931-3) [ baritone, string quartet ], from Notturno: Fünf Sätze für Bariton und Streichquartett, no. 5, Zürich: Hug & Co. Musikverlage [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Bernhard Ernst Scholz (1835 - 1916), "Blick' in den Strom", op. 11 (Sechs zweistimmige Lieder mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 6, published 1878 [ vocal duet with piano ], Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text not yet checked]
• by Felix Paul Weingartner (1863 - 1942), "Blick in den Strom", op. 16 (Acht Gedichte von Nicolaus Lenau für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 8 (1891?), published 1894 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Challier & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Blick in den Strom", op. 102 ([Vier] Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1886 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by L. Weinhold ; composed by Nikolai Karlovich Medtner.
  • Go to the text.
    
• Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (1803 - 1873) , first published 1858 [an adaptation] ; composed by Aleksandr Borisovich Goldenveizer, Nikolai Karlovich Medtner.
  • Go to the text.
    
• Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Viktor Rydberg (1828 - 1895) , "På floden" ; composed by Adolf Wiklund.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2015, (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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 79

If you [saw]1 a happiness pass by
That shall never be found again,
It is good to look into a river
Where everything surges and disappears.

Oh, only gaze into it, [gaze] into it,
You shall less sorely miss
That -- and though it were your dearest [treasure] --
Which was torn from your heart.

Gaze steadfastly down to the river
Until your tears fall,
And through their warm outpouring see
The river surging onward.

As if in a dream, oblivion
Shall close the wound of your heart;
With its sorrow the soul sees
Itself flowing past.