Wandrers Nachtlied is the title of two different poems written by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  The 2nd poem was written in 1780.  This is the one we’re featuring here.  It’s considered by many to be the most beautiful poem in the German language.

Here you can read the original poem and listen to an mp3 recording.  After that, you’ll find a modern English translation, followed by a well-known translation from the 1800’s by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Then you can watch a video performance of the poem being sung in an arrangement by Schubert.

MP3 of Wandrers Nachtlied

Wandrers Nachtlied
(German)

Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.

Poem recited by Raphael.

Here’s a modern English Translation (by Lisa):

Wanderer’s Nightsong

Over all mountaintops
Is peace,
In all treetops
You sense
Barely a breath;
The little birds are silent in the woods.
Just wait, soon
You will rest too.

Here’s a translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1845):

Wanderer’s Nightsong

O’er all the hilltops
Is quiet now,
In all the treetops
Hearest thou
Hardly a breath;
The birds are asleep in the trees:
Wait, soon like these
Thou too shalt rest.

Wandrers Nachtlied was set to music by Schubert.  Here is a performance of it from YouTube.  (The lyrics are performed in a slightly different order in this performance.  Below you can read the order of the lyrics as sung in the video.)