At dawn | Thus I lie waiting silently; through my hand, my cold hand

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 Karl Stieler (1842 - 1885)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Im Morgengrauen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

So harr' ich schweigend; durch die Hand, die kalte 
Pocht leis der Puls. An meiner Liegestatt 
Brennt stumm die Ampel, die getreue, alte -- 
  Sie brennt so matt.

Auch sie ist müd! Ich hör' die Hähne schreien 
Von fern, es geht dem grauen Morgen zu.
Wer wird zuerst verlöschen von uns zweien --
  Ich oder du?

Note: in some editions of Berg's song, stanza 1, line 1, word 2 is "harrte" or "harre"; and stanza 2, line 3, word 7 is "beide" instead of "zweien".

Text Authorship:

by Karl Stieler (1842 - 1885), "Im Morgengrauen", appears in Hochland-Lieder, in 14. Aus Fiebertagen , no. 7, first published 1879 [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 Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "Im Morgengrauen", 1904-5 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, Vol. I (1901-04), no. 30 [sung text checked 1 time]
by August Stradal (1860 - 1930), "Im Morgengrauen", published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Gedichte, no. 2, Leipzig, Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "En un gris matí", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "At dawn", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À l'aube", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 54

At dawn

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Thus I lie waiting silently; through my hand, my cold [hand],
My pulse beats quietly.  Beside my place of rest
The lamp burns mutely, the old faithful [lamp] --
 It burns so faintly.

It, too, is weary!  I hear the cocks scream
In the distance; the grey morning is approaching.
[Lamp,] which of us two will be the first to go out --
 I or you?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Karl Stieler (1842 - 1885), "Im Morgengrauen", appears in Hochland-Lieder, in 14. Aus Fiebertagen , no. 7, first published 1879
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-11-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 64