Es zogen zwei rüst'ge Gesellen

Es zogen zwei rüst'ge Gesellen
Zum erstenmal von Haus,
So jubelnd recht in die hellen,
[Klingenden]1, singenden Wellen
Des vollen Frühlings hinaus.

Die strebten nach hohen Dingen,
Die wollten, trotz Lust und Schmerz,
Was Recht's in der Welt vollbringen,
Und wem sie vorübergingen,
Dem lachten Sinnen und Herz. --

Der Erste, der fand ein Liebchen,
Die Schwieger kauft' Hof und Haus;
Der wiegte gar bald ein Bübchen,
Und sah aus heimlichen Stübchen
Behaglich in's Feld hinaus.

Dem Zweiten sangen und logen
Die tausend Stimmen im Grund,
Verlockend' Sirenen, und zogen
Ihn in [der buhlenden Wogen
Farbig klingenden Schlund]2.

Und wie er auftaucht vom Schlunde
Da war er müde und alt,
Sein Schifflein das lag im Grunde,
So still war's rings in [die]3 Runde
Und über [die]4 Wasser weht's kalt.

Es [singen und klingen]5 die Wellen
Des Frühlings wohl über mir;
Und seh' ich so kecke Gesellen,
Die Tränen im Auge mir schwellen -
Ach, Gott, führ' uns liebreich zu Dir!

Translation(s): DUT ENG FRE ITA

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

• by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Die zwei Gesellen", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Sängerleben [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Philipp Jarnach (1892 - 1982), "Die zwei Gesellen", 1915. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Johann Langer (1861 - 1950), "Frühlingsfahrt" [voice and piano], from Vier Lieder, no. 1. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Frühlingsfahrt", op. 45 (Romanzen und Balladen für Singstimme und Klavier (Heft 1)) no. 2 (1840), published 1844 [voice and piano], Leipzig, Whistling [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Die zwei Gesellen", op. 52 no. 3 (185-?) [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Op reis in de lente", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Les deux compagnons", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Due baldanzosi giovanotti", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project, and I have been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated.      - Emily Ezust

Two spry youths left home

Two spry youths left home
for the first time,
and set sail with jubilation in the bright,
splashing and singing waves
during the fullness of Spring.

They aspired after high things,
wishing, despite pleasure and pain,
to bring what is right into the world;
and if they went past,
their minds and hearts laughed.

The first one found a sweetheart,
whose mother bought him a farm and a house;
soon he was cradling a little baby
and looking out from a secret little room
cosily into the field.

The second one was sung to and lied to
by a thousand voices in the earth:
tantalizing siren songs pulled
him down into the enticing waves,
into the waves of the colorful abyss.

And when he surfaced from the abyss,
he was exhausted and old,
his boat lay grounded;
it was so very quiet around,
and across the waters cold winds blew.

The waves of Spring sing and splash
well beyond me;
and when I see such bold youths,
the tears swell in my eyes -
ah God, guide us lovingly to you!

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.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Frühlingsfahrt" = "Spring journey"
"Die zwei Gesellen" = "The two youths"

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 Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Die zwei Gesellen", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Sängerleben DUT FRE ITA
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Philipp Jarnach, Johann Langer, Robert Schumann, Johann Vesque von Püttlingen. Go to the text.

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