Text & Translation
Steig auf, geliebter Schatten
German source:
Friedrich Halm
Vor mir in toter Nacht
Und lab mich Todesmatten
Mit deiner Nähe Macht!
Du hast’s gekonnt im Leben,
Du kannst es auch im Tod.
Sich nicht dem Schmerz ergeben,
War immer dein Gebot.
So komm! Still’ meine Tränen,
Gib meiner Seele Schwung,
Und Kraft dem welken Sehnen,
Und mach’ mich wieder jung.
Rise up before me, beloved shadow
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
At the dead of night,
And revive me, wearied to death,
By the power of your presence!
You could do it in life,
You can in death as well.
Never yield to sorrow,
Was always your command.
Come then! Dry my tears,
Exhilarate my soul
And strengthen my shrivelled limbs
And make me young again.
Steig auf, geliebter Schatten
German source:
Friedrich Halm
Rise up before me, beloved shadow
English source:
Richard Stokes
Steig auf, geliebter Schatten,
Rise up before me, beloved shade,
Vor mir in toter Nacht
At the dead of night,
Und lab mich Todesmatten
And revive me, wearied to death,
Mit deiner Nähe Macht!
By the power of your presence!
Du hast’s gekonnt im Leben,
You could do it in life,
Du kannst es auch im Tod.
You can in death as well.
Sich nicht dem Schmerz ergeben,
Never yield to sorrow,
War immer dein Gebot.
Was always your command.
So komm! Still’ meine Tränen,
Come then! Dry my tears,
Gib meiner Seele Schwung,
Exhilarate my soul
Und Kraft dem welken Sehnen,
And strengthen my shrivelled limbs
Und mach’ mich wieder jung.
And make me young again.
Composer
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna. Brahms has been considered, by his…
Poet
Friedrich Halm
Baron Eligius Franz Joseph von Münch-Bellinghausen (German: Eligius Franz Joseph Freiherr von Münch-Bellinghausen) was an Austrian dramatist, poet and novella writer of the Austrian Biedermeier period and beyond, and is more generally known under…