by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Gott spricht zu jedem nur eh er ihn...
Language: German (Deutsch)
Gott spricht zu jedem nur eh er ihn macht, dann geht er schweigend mit ihm aus der Nacht. Aber die Worte, eh jeder beginnt, diese wolkigen Worte, sind: Von deinen Sinnen hinausgesandt geh bis an deiner Sehnsucht Rand; gieb mir Gewand. Hinter den Dingen wachse als Brand, dass ihre Schatten, ausgespannt, immer mich ganz bedecken. Lass dir Alles geschehn: Schönheit und Schrecken. Man muss nur gehn: Kein Gefühl ist das fernste. Lass dich von mir nicht trennen. Nah ist das Land, das sie das Leben nennen. Du wirst es erkennen an seinem Ernste. Gieb mir die Hand.
G. Gordon sets stanzas 3-4
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 59 [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 Robert Fürstenthal (1920 - 2016), "Gott spricht zu jedem nur" [ voice and piano ], from Lieder an Gott nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey Gordon (b. 1968), "Land", published 2018, stanzas 3-4 [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass ], from Fluss Land Stadt, no. 2, [United States] : SpencerSongs Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lita Grier (1937 - 2024), "Wait--- that tastes good" [ soprano, horn, violoncello and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Barbara Kolberg (b. 1971), "Von deinen Sinnen hinausgesandt", copyright © 2021 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Sololieder, no. 6, München : Strube Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josep Soler i Sardà (1935 - 2022), "Gott spricht", 1990 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Robert Bly (b. 1926) , copyright © ; composed by Michael Alec Rose.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in English, a translation by Anita Barrows , no title, copyright © and by Joanna Macy , no title, copyright © ; composed by Stephanie K. Andrews, Craig Brandwein, Gwyneth Walker.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 97
We’re spoken to as we are made,
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
We’re spoken to as we are made, then walked out silently into the light. What are the words, cloudy and primordial, hazy and half-remembered, dug from the murky ooze of our beginnings? Go, says the Voice. Go beyond the reach of your senses. Go to the edge of your longing. Make seen the Unseen, make known the Unknown. Be the flame that casts a shadow big enough to build a life in. Let everything happen to you, good and bad. You just have to do it. No feeling is closest, and none is the farthest away. I’m here; there’s no way you can lose me. That place is called Life, right over there. It’s waiting for you. You’ll know when you see it, and everything starts to happen for real. Give me your hand.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 59
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), "We’re spoken to as we are made," [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Circle of Light, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 134