Songs
Die Mitternacht war kalt und stumm
by Heinrich Heine From Lyrisches Intermezzo (1823) 1822-1823
Die Mitternacht war kalt und stumm
German source:
Heinrich Heine
Ich irrte klagend im Wald herum.
Ich hab die Bäum aus dem Schlaf gerüttelt;
Sie haben mitleidig die Köpfe geschüttelt.
The midnight air was cold and still
English translation ©
Hal Draper
Plaintive I wandered the wood at will.
Out of their sleep I shook every tree;
They waggled their heads in pity for me.
Translations by Hal Draper published by Oxford University Press and Suhrkamp/Insel Verlag (1984)
Die Mitternacht war kalt und stumm
German source:
Heinrich Heine
The midnight air was cold and still
English source:
Hal Draper
Die Mitternacht war kalt und stumm;
The midnight air was cold and still,
Ich irrte klagend im Wald herum.
Plaintive I wandered the wood at will.
Ich hab die Bäum aus dem Schlaf gerüttelt;
Out of their sleep I shook every tree;
Sie haben mitleidig die Köpfe geschüttelt.
They waggled their heads in pity for me.
Composer
Poet
Heinrich Heine
Heine was born of Jewish parents. Much of his early life was influenced by the financial power of his uncle Salomon Heine, a millionaire Hamburg banker, with whom he remained on an awkward footing for many years. After he had been educated in the…