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Aus dem Walde tritt die Nacht,
Aus den Bäumen schleicht sie leise,
[Schaut]1 sich um [im weiten]2 Kreise,
Nun gib Acht!
Alle Lichter dieser Welt,
Alle Blumen, alle Farben
Löscht sie aus und stiehlt die Garben
Weg vom Feld.
Alles nimmt sie, was nur hold,
Nimmt das Silber weg des [Stromes,]3
Nimmt vom Kupferdach des [Domes]4
Weg das Gold.
Ausgeplündert steht der Strauch:
Rücke näher, Seel' an Seele,
O die Nacht, mir bangt, sie stehle
Dich mir auch.
Confirmed with Gedichte von Hermann von Gilm, Erster Band, Wien: Verlag von Carl Gerold's Sohn, 1864, pages 249-250.
1 Thuille: "Sieht"2 Strauss: "in weitem"
3 Strauss: "Stroms"
4 Strauss: "Doms"
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg (1812 - 1864), "Die Nacht", appears in Die letzten Blätter [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 Albert Felix, Graf Amadei (1851 - 1894), "Die Nacht", op. 9 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Senff [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Ippisch (1883 - 1958), "Die Nacht", 1935 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "Die Nacht", op. 55 (Zehn Lieder) no. 4, published [1918] [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: C.F.W. Siegel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Die Nacht", op. 10 (Acht Gedichte aus "Letzte Blätter" von Hermann von Gilm) no. 3 (1882-82) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 - 1907), "Die Nacht", op. 12 (Drei Gesänge) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest Vietor (flourished 1905-1930), "Die Nacht", op. 4 no. 4 (1907?) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Wallnöfer (1854 - 1946), "Die Nacht", op. 43 (Sieben Lieder für 1 tiefere oder mittlere Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1892 [ low voice or medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erich Zeisl (1905 - 1959), "Die Nacht", 1931 [ baritone and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Sílvia Pujalte Piñán) , "La nit", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De nacht", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Lawrence Snyder) (Rebecca Plack) , "The night", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (David Paley) , "Night", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (John Bernhoff) , "Night", first published 1897
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La nuit", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "La notte", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "夜", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Natalia Vyshynska) , "Ночь", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "La noche", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Lawrence Snyder , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 82
Night steps out of the woods, And sneaks softly out of the trees, Looks about in a wide circle, Now beware. All the lights of this earth, All flowers, all colors It extinguishes, and steals the sheaves From the field. It takes everything that is dear, Takes the silver from the stream, Takes away, from the cathedral's copper roof, The gold. The shrubs stand plundered, Draw nearer, soul to soul; Oh, I fear the night will also steal You from me.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Lawrence Snyder and Rebecca Plack, (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 Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg (1812 - 1864), "Die Nacht", appears in Die letzten Blätter
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 81