Summer night | Oh darkly-glowing summer night!

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Sommernacht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

O dunkelglühende Sommernacht!
Geigen locken im lauen Garten,
Leuchtkugeln blühen in weichen, zarten
Bogen empor. Meine Tänzerin lacht.

Heimlich schleich' ich davon. Die Zweige 
Blühender Träume dämmern blaß.
Ach, alle Lust geht so bald zur Neige,
Nur das Verlangen brennt ohne Unterlaß.

Wunderherrliche Sommernachtfeste
Meiner Jugend, wo seid ihr hin?
Alle Tänze, ob ich auch fröhlich bin,
Gleiten so kühl, es fehlt das Beste.

O dunkelglühende Sommernacht,
Laß mich doch einmal den träumeschweren
Becher der Lust bis zum Grunde leeren,
Der mich sättigt und endlich stille macht!

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 185-186.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Sommernacht", subtitle: "(April 1909)", written 1909, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Heinz-Otto Hoffmann (b. 1902), "Sommernacht", 1932-47 [ voice and piano ], from 21 Lieder, no. 21 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Summer night", subtitle: "(April 1909)", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Nuit d'été", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-04
Line count: 16
Word count: 87

Summer night

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Oh darkly-glowing summer night!
Violins sound beguilingly in the warm garden,
Lampions bloom aloft in a soft, delicate
Arch.  My dancing partner laughs.

Secretly I steal away. The branches
Of blossoming dreams grow pale in the twilight.
Ah, all joy wanes so very quickly,
Only yearning burns without ceasing.

Wondrously glorious summer-night celebrations
Of my youth, where have you gone?
All dances, though I may be merry,
Glide so coolly; the best is missing.

Oh darkly-glowing summer night!
Let me for once drain the dream-laden 
Goblet of passion to the last drop,
[The goblet] that would satisfy and finally quieten me!

Subtitle: "(April 1909)"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Sommernacht", subtitle: "(April 1909)", written 1909, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-05-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 101