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[An]1 dies Schifflein schmiege, Holder See, dich sacht! Frommer Liebe Wiege, Nimm sie wohl in Acht! Deine Wellen rauschen; Rede nicht so laut! Laß mich ihr nur lauschen, Die mir viel vertraut! Deine Wellen [leuchten]2, Spiegeln uns zurück Tausendfach die feuchten Augen voller Glück. Deine Wellen zittern [Von]3 der Sonne Glut; Ob [sie's]4 heimlich wittern, Wie die Liebe tut? Weit und weiter immer Rück den Strand hinaus! Aus dem Himmel nimmer Laß uns steigen aus! Fern von Menschenreden Und von Menschensinn, Als ein schwimmend Eden Trag dies Schifflein hin!
J. Brahms sets stanzas 1-2, 4-6
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte von C. Reinhold, Stuttgart: C. Mäcken, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1853, pages 41-42.
First published in the periodical Morgenblatt, November 9, 1840 (No. 268).
Note to Lang's setting: Lang was working a text that Köstlin had copied out for her (Christian Reinhold Köstlin’s poetry manuscripts, Cod.hist. 4º 437, Fasz. 10a Nr. 1, poem [23], Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany); in that copy the poem began with "Um." With the exception of "rauschen" in stanza 3 (which was Lang's error) all the other differences are also from that poetry manuscript.
1 Lang: "Um"2 Lang: "rauschen"
3 Lang: "Vor"
4 Lang: "sie"
Text Authorship:
- by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), no title, written 1840, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, in Seelieder, no. 11, first published 1840 [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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Auf dem See", op. 106 (Fünf Lieder) no. 2 (1885), published 1888, stanzas 1-2,4-6 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "An den See", op. 14 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 4 (1841), published 1848 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Op het meer (Kabbel langs dit scheepje)", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Nestle up to this little boat", copyright ©
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sur le lac", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 89
Nestle up to this little boat, lovely lake, gently! Cradle of holy love, Take good care of it! Your waves are roaring; do not speak so loudly! Just let me listen to her, who is confiding so much to me! Your waves sparkle, reflecting back at us a thousand moist eyes full of happiness! Your waves tremble from the heat of the sun, could it be they secretly sense how love works? Farther and farther, draw us away from the shore! From this heaven never let me descend! Far from human speech and human thoughts, like a floating Eden, carry this little boat away!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), no title, written 1840, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, in Seelieder, no. 11, first published 1840
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 104