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Seid gegrüßt, ihr grünen Hallen Frühlingsheller Waldespracht, Wo das dumpfe Herz aus allen Kümmernissen froh erwacht. Seid gegrüsst, ihr Felsenzacken, Die ihr in die Wolken ragt Und auf starkem Riesennacken Säulenschlanke Buchen tragt. Moos'ge Schluchten, Steingeklüfte Ueberdeckt das rote Laub, Das im Sturm die Herbsteslüfte Hingewettert in den Staub; Wie ein Teppich braun und golden Lagern Schichten über Schicht, Die mit selt'nen Blütendolden Kaum ein Grünes unterbricht. Was sich hoffnungsvoll entfaltet Einst im Mai in junger Kraft, Wird im Herbste schnell veraltet Zu den Toten hingerafft; Aber unerschöpflich dringen Trieb' um Triebe wachsend nach, Und die starken Aeste schlingen Sich zum hochgewölbten Dach. Menschenkind, und du willst klagen, Wenn im Wirbelsturm der Welt Deine Hoffnung hingeschlagen Gleich dem Laub zu Boden fällt? Auf! Aus ungeschwächtem Marke Schaffe neue, tausendfalt, Und so wache, so erstarke Wie der sturmerprobte Wald. Seid gegrüßt, ihr grünen Hallen Frühlingsheller Waldespracht. Durch die Wipfel hör' ich 's wallen Hundertstimmig laut und sacht, Treibend, knospend, vielgeschäftig Rauschts dahin wie Geisterflug; Lenz, ich spüre lebenskräftig Deinen neuen Athemzug.
Confirmed with Fahrendes Volk. Gedichte von Arthur Fitger, Oldenburg: Druck und Verlag der Schulzeschen Buchhandlung, 1875, pages 46-47.
Authorship:
- by Arthur Heinrich Wilhelm Fitger (1840 - 1909), "Lenzgesang", appears in Fahrendes Volk, in Credo [author's text checked 1 time 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 Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Lenzgesang", op. 50 (Sechs Gesänge (Six Songs)) no. 1 (1906) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Spring song", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kevätlaulu", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chant du printemps", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 171
Greetings to you, you green expanses Of glorious forests, bright with spring, Where the dull heart may awaken Happily from all troubles. Greetings to you, you rocky crags That stretch up into the clouds And upon your giant nape Carry beeches, slender as columns. Mossy gorges, rocky chasms Are covered by the red foliage That the autumn breezes stormily Flung down into the dust; Like a carpet brown and golden They are lying layer upon layer, Those, which with its rare blooming spikes Hardly a green plant interrupts. That which unfurled so full of hope Once in May in its youthful vigour, Quickly grown old, is in autumn Swept away to the dead; But inexhaustibly surges forth again New growth upon new growth, And the strong branches entwine To form a high, vaulted ceiling. Child of man, and you wish to complain When in the stormy turmoil of the world Your hopes are dashed [and] Fall to the ground like the leaves? Arise! From your undaunted marrow Create new hopes a thousandfold, And thus watch, thus grow strong Like the storm-tried forest. Greetings to you, you green expanses Of glorious forests, bright with spring, Through the treetops I hear it moving In a hundred voices, loudly and gently; Sprouting forth, budding, bestirring itself mightily, It rushes onward like a flight of spirits; Spring, I perceive, full of the power of life, Your renewed breath.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Arthur Heinrich Wilhelm Fitger (1840 - 1909), "Lenzgesang", appears in Fahrendes Volk, in Credo
This text was added to the website: 2015-05-09
Line count: 40
Word count: 235