Die abgeblühte Linde

Wirst du halten, was du schwurst,
Wenn mir die Zeit die Locken bleicht?
Wie du über Berge fuhrst,
Eilt das Wiedersehn nicht leicht.

Änd'rung ist das Kind der Zeit,
Womit Trennung uns bedroht,
Und was die Zukunft beut,
Ist ein blässer's Lebensroth.

Sieh, die Linde blühet noch,
Als du heute von ihr gehst;
Wirst sie wieder finden, doch
Ihre Blüthen stiehlt der West.

Einsam steht sie dann, vorbei
Geht man kalt, bemerkt sie kaum.
Nur der Gärtner bleibt ihr treu,
Denn er liebt in ihr den Baum.

Translation(s): DUT ENG FRE

List of language codes

Note: No published source of this poem is known. Most likely Schubert received the text in manuscript form from Széchényi, the dedicatee of Schubert's op. 7.

Authorship

• by Ludwig Széchényi von Sávári-Felső-Vidék (1781 - 1855) [ author's text not yet checked 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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die abgeblühte Linde", op. 7 (Drei Lieder) no. 1, D. 514 (1817?) [ sung text verified 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De uitgebloeide linde", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The faded linden", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le tilleul fané", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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The faded linden

Will you fulfill what you have sworn,
When time has bleached my locks?
As you've gone away over the mountains,
Hurrying to a reunion is not easy.

Change is the child of time,
With which parting threatens us,
And what the future holds
Is only a pale blush of life.

See, the linden blooms yet,
As you go from it;
You will see it again, although
Its blossoms will be stolen by the west wind.

Alone will it stand then; and past it
Will go indifferent people, hardly noticing it.
Only the gardener will remain true,
For he loves the tree for itself.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

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 -- http://www.lieder.net/

  For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
  
  
  (licenses at lieder dot net)
  
  
  

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Ludwig Széchényi von Sávári-Felső-Vidék (1781 - 1855) DUT FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Franz Peter Schubert. Go to the text.

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.