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Am Meer, am wüsten, nächtlichen Meer Steht ein Jüngling-Mann, Die Brust voll Wehmut, das Haupt voll Zweifel, Und mit düstern Lippen fragt er die Wogen: "O löst mir das Rätsel des Lebens, Das qualvoll uralte Rätsel, Worüber schon manche Häupter gegrübelt, Häupter in Hieroglyphenmützen, Häupter in Turban und schwarzem Barett, Perückenhäupter und tausend andre Arme, schwitzende Menschenhäupter - Sagt mir, was bedeutet der Mensch? Woher ist er kommen? Wo geht er hin? Wer wohnt dort oben auf goldenen Sternen?" Es murmeln die Wogen ihr ew'ges Gemurmel, Es wehet der Wind, es fliehen die Wolken, Es blinken die Sterne, gleichgültig und kalt, Und ein Narr wartet auf Antwort.
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Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), "Fragen", appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Nordsee, in Zweiter Zyklus, no. 7, first published 1825-6 [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 John Clement Adams (flourished 1973-2002), "Fragen", published c1985 [ high voice and piano ], from Heine songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Yehezkel Braun (b. 1922), "Fragen", published 2006 [ baritone and piano ], from Spätlese aus Heinrich Heines Gedichte, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Martin Gräbner (b. 1967), "Fragen", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Drei mal Drei Lieder nach Tucholsky, Heine und Goethe, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Paul Lachner (1803 - 1890), "Fragen", op. 54 (Sechs deutsche Gesänge), Heft 2 no. 6, published 1837 [ baritone or alto and piano ], Leipzig, Klemm [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nikolay Vladimirovich Shcherbachyov (1853 - 1922), "Am Meere (Am Meere, dem stürmischen Meere)", op. 3 (Sieben Lieder) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Weigl (1881 - 1949), "Fragen", op. 1 (Sieben Gesänge) no. 4 (1903-4), published 1912 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , "Question", appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Questions", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-15
Line count: 18
Word count: 106
Au bord de la mer, la mer déserte et nocturne, Il y a un jeune homme, La poitrine emplie de mélancolie, la tête de doutes, Et avec des lèvres sombres, il questionne les vagues : » Ô résolvez pour moi l'énigme de la vie, La torturante et très vieille énigme Sur laquelle déjà nombre de têtes se sont creusées, Des têtes avec tiares hiéroglyphées, Des têtes en turban et barrette noire, Des têtes emperruquées et mille autres, De pauvres, transpirantes têtes d'hommes -- Dites-moi, que signifie l'homme ? D'où vient-il ? Où va-t-il ? Qui habite là-haut, sur des étoiles d'or ? « Les vagues chuchotent leur éternel murmure, Le vent souffle, les nuages passent, Les étoiles scintillent, indifférentes et froides, Et un fou attend une réponse.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), "Fragen", appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Nordsee, in Zweiter Zyklus, no. 7, first published 1825-6
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-04
Line count: 18
Word count: 121