Wie wenn im frost'gen Luftzug tödlich
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE
Wie wenn [im frost'gen Luftzug]1 tödlich
Des Sommers letzte Blüte krankt,
Und hier und da nur, gelb und rötlich,
Ein einzles Blatt im [Windhauch]2 schwankt:
So schauert über mein Leben
Ein nächtig trüber, kalter Tag,
Warum noch vor dem Tode beben,
O Herz, mit deinem ew'gen Schlag!
Sieh rings entblättert das Gestäude!
Was spielst du, wie der Wind am Strauch,
Noch mit der letzten, welken Freude?
Gib dich zur Ruh! Bald stirbt sie auch.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Brahms: "vom frost'gen Windhauch"; Schäffer: "im frost'gen Windhauch" (further changes may exist not shown)
2 Esser: "Windeshauche"
Authorship:
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), "Herbstgefühl", op. 48 (Sieben Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 7 (1867), published 1868 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Heinrich Esser (1818 - 1872), "Aus den Liedern und Balladen von Friedrich von Schack", op. 67 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder aus dem Münchner Dichterbuche für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Julius Schäffer (1823 - 1902), "Gieb dich zur Ruh", op. 13 (Vier Lieder für gemischten Chor) no. 1, published 1877 [ mixed chorus ], Breslau, Hainauer  [sung text not yet checked]
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) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Sensation of Autumn", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sentiment d'automne", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 74
Sensation of Autumn
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Just as when, [in]1 a frosty, fatal breeze,
The summer's last blossoms fall sick,
And here and there, yellow and red,
A single leaf shakes in the breeze:
So does my life shiver from
A nightlike, gloomy, cold day;
Why tremble before death,
O heart, with your eternal pulse?
Look around at the leafless bushes!
Why do you still play, like the wind in the shrubs,
With the last, withered pleasures?
Go to your rest! Soon they will die too.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 for the Brahms version: "from"
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:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 80