Ohne Wort, ohne Wort
rinnt das Wasser immerfort;
andernfalls, andernfalls
sprach' es doch nichts andres als:
Bier und Brot, Lieb und Treu,-
und das wäre auch nicht neu.
Dieses zeigt, dieses zeigt,
dass das Wasser besser schweigt.
The poem is headed with
(Dem Dichter Franz Servaes)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Das Wasser", 2010 [ soprano and piano ], from Zehn Morgenstern-lieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Farber (b. 1945), "Das Wasser", from Galgenlieder, no. 34 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralf Albert Franz (b. 1969), "Das Wasser", from Galgenlieder, no. 13 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Siegfried Strohbach (b. 1929), "Das Wasser", from 5 Galgenlieder nach Christian Morgenstern, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Water", rhymed paraphrase, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 37
Without words, wordy words
Running water bubbles on;
Otherwise, yea otherwise
It would chatter dawn to dawn.
Beer and bread, love and care, --
Nothing new is said or sung.
All this shows is that water knows
It is best to hold one's tongue.