by
Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), as Novalis
Bricht das matte Herz noch immer
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Bricht das matte Herz noch immer
unter fremden Himmel nicht?
Kommt der Hoffnung bleicher Schimmer
immer noch mir zu Gesicht?
Darf ich wol noch Rückkehr wähnen?
stromweis stürzen meine Tränen,
bis mein Herz im Kummer bricht.
Fern sind jene Jugendträume,
abwärts ligt das Vaterland,
Längst gefällt sind jene Bäume
und das alte Schloß [verbrannt]1;
Fürchterlich wie Meereswogen
kam ein rauhes Heer gezogen,
und das Paradies verschwand.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Trösteinsamkeit in Liedern, gesammelt von Philipp Wackernagel, dritte vermehrte Auflage, Frankfurt a. M. u. Erlangen, Verlag von Heyder & Zimmer, 1858, page 53.
Note: modernized spelling would change "wol" to "wohl", "ligt" to "liegt"
1 Reichardt: "zerbrannt"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Set in a modified version by August Leopold Crelle, Johann Christoph Kienlen.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "Longing for the Homeland", copyright © 2019, (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: 14
Word count: 66
Longing for the Homeland
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Does not the weary heart still
break under foreign skies?
Is a pale glimmer of hope
still visible to me?
Could I still think of returning?
Streams of my tears
tumble down until my heart breaks in sorrow.
Those youthful dreams are distant;
down there lies the fatherland;
Long since have the trees
been felled
and the old castle burnt;
Terrifying like ocean waves
a rough army came,
and paradise disappeared.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-05
Line count: 15
Word count: 71