Final prayer | Like a mortally wounded warrior

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Wie ein todeswunder Streiter

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Wie ein todeswunder Streiter, 
der den Weg verloren hat,
schwank' ich nun und kann nicht weiter,
von dem Leben sterbensmatt.
Nacht schon decket alle Müden,
und so still ist's um mich [her,]¹
Herr, auch mir gib endlich Frieden,
denn ich wünsch' und hoff' nichts mehr!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Wolf

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Wolf: "her, Herr, gib Frieden!"

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Geistliche Gedichte, in Der Pilger, no. 5 [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 Heinrich Kaspar Schmid (1874 - 1953), "Wie ein todeswunder Streiter", op. 33 no. 4 (1920), first performed 1921, orchestrated 1940 [ baritone and piano ], from Der Pilger : Zyklus von fünf Gedichten von Joseph v. Eichendorff, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Severin Warteresiewicz (1852 - 1923), "Der Pilger", op. 12 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1889 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Letzte Bitte", 1881 [ satb chorus ], from Sechs geistliche Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , "Final prayer", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Virginia Knight

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

Final prayer

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Like a mortally wounded warrior,
who has lost his way,
I begin to falter and cannot go on,
Worn to death by Life.
Now, night blankets all my weariness,
And it is so silent around me;
Lord, grant me peace!
Lord, grant me also ultimate peace,
As I desire and hope for nothing more!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 6. Geistliche Gedichte, in Der Pilger, no. 5
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-02
Line count: 9
Word count: 54