Brief awakening | I went out in May

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by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862)

Translation © by Michael Berridge

Kurzes Erwachen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Ich bin im Mai gegangen
Und hab' es nicht gewußt,
Also von Schmerz befangen
Ist die erkrankte Brust.

Ein Vogel hat gesungen
Im jungbelaubten Wald,
Da ist ins Herz gedrungen
Mir seine Stimme bald.

Vom Aug' ist mir gefallen
Ein schwerer [Tränentau]¹,
Drauf sah den Mai ich wallen
Durch Erd' und Himmel blau.

Als Vogel ausgesungen
Flog er ins weite Land,
Und wie sein Lied verklungen,
Um mich der Mai verschwand.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Justinus Kerner Werke, Zweiter Teil, Gedichte, ed. Raimund Pissin, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., 1914, page 72

¹ Winkelmeier: "Tränenflor"

Text Authorship:

by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Kurzes Erwachen", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte [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 Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Kurzes Erwachen", 1827-28 [ voice and piano ], from Elf Jugendlieder, no. 2, note: published as "op. posth. 21", no. 4, in 1933, Wien (Vienna), Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
by Hermann Winkelmann (1848 - 1912), "Kurzes Erwachen", published 1846 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Breu despertar", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Kort ontwaken", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Michael Berridge) , "Brief awakening", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Bref réveil", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 73

Brief awakening

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I went out in May
And did not know it,
So racked with pain
Was my stricken breast.

A bird sang
In the young-leafed wood,
His voice soon
Penetrated my heart.

From my eye fell
A heavy dew of tears,
Then I saw May flowing
Through earth and blue sky.

When the bird had sung its song
It flew far away,
And as its song ebbed away,
So May vanished all around me.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Michael Berridge, (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 Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Kurzes Erwachen", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-01-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 73