Home | The boatman turns homeward on the mute river

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by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Die Heimat

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Froh kehrt der Schiffer heim an den stillen [Strom]¹
   Von fernen Inseln, wo er geerntet hat;
      Wohl [möcht' auch ich]² zur Heimat wieder;
         Aber was hab' ich, wie Leid, geerntet? -
 
Ihr holden Ufer, die ihr mich auferzogt,
   [Stillt ihr der Liebe Leiden? ach!]³ gebt ihr mir,
      Ihr Wälder meiner Kindheit, wann ich
         [Komme]⁴, die Ruhe noch Einmal wieder?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Eisler • H. Eisler

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Friedrich Hölderlin Sämtliche Gedichte und Hyperion, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1999, page 200

Note (provided by Sharon Krebs): Hölderlin published two versions of this poem - this one with two stanzas and a longer one with six stanzas. Only the first two lines are the same.

¹ Eisler: "Strome"
² Eisler: "möchte ich gern"
³ Eisler: "Ach!"
⁴ Eisler: "wiederkehre".

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Die Heimat" [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Die Heimat", op. 61 no. 2, published 1963, from Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Die Heimat", 1943, from Hölderlin Fragmente, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Die Heimat", from Hollywooder Liederbuch, no. 40 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Josef Matthias Hauer (1883 - 1959), "Die Heimat", op. 12 (Drei Lieder) no. 3 (1915) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 63

Home

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 The boatman turns homeward on the mute river
 from distant islands, where he has been gathering his harvest;
 gladly would I also turn toward home now;
 but what have I gathered except sorrow?
 
 You lovely banks that brought me up,
 can you still love's grief? ah, can you give me,
 when I come to you woods of my childhood,
 can you give me that peace once again?

Text 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
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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Die Heimat"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 68