LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,107)
  • Text Authors (19,481)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,114)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832 - 1910)
Translation by Edmund Lobedanz (1820 - 1882)

I skogen smågutten gikk dagen lang
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Our translations:  FRE
I skogen smågutten gikk dagen lang,
  gikk dagen lang;
der hadde han hørt slik en underlig sang,
  underlig sang.

Gutten en fløyte av selju skar,
  av selju skar -
og prøvde om tonen der inne var,
  der inne var.

Tonen den hvisket og nevnte seg,
  og nevnte seg,
men best om han lydde, den løp sin vei,
  den løp sin vei.

Titt når han sov, den til ham smøg,
  den til ham smøg,
og over hans panne med elskov strøg,
  med elskov strøg,

Ville den fange, og våknet bratt,
  og våknet bratt;
  men tonen hang fast i den bleke natt,
  den bleke natt.

"Herre min Gud, ta meg der inn,
  ta meg der inn,
ti tonen har fått mitt hele sinn,
  mitt hele sinn."

Herren han svarte: "Den er din venn,
  den er din venn;
skjønt aldri en time du eier den,
  du eier en.

Alle de andre dog litt forslår,
  dog litt forslår,
mot denne du søker, men aldri når,
  men aldri når." -

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. Haarklou 

J. Haarklou sets stanzas 1-7

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832 - 1910), "Tonen", appears in Arne [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 Johannes Haarklou (1847 - 1925), "Tonen", stanzas 1-7 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Per Lasson (1859 - 1883), "Tonen", published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder-Album. Fünfzehn Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 1, Leipzig, W. Hansen [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (1801 - 1878), "Tonen", c1871-1872 [ voice and piano ], from Sånger och Visor vid Pianoforte. 7:de och 8:de delen, no. 188 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Rikard Nordraak (1842 - 1866), "Tonen" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Fredrika Wickman (b. 1852), "I skogen smågutten gikk dagen lang", op. 10 (Tre romancer) no. 3, published 1876? [ high voice and piano ], Kjøenhavn : Horneman & Erslev; also in Sang-Album, no. 11 (1895, Kjobenhavn : Wilhelm Hansens Musik-Forlag) [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Edmund William Gosse (1849 - 1928) , "The boy and the flute" [an adaptation] ; composed by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Edmund Lobedanz (1820 - 1882) , no title, appears in Björnstjerne Björnson's Bauernnovellen, Hildburghausen, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, p. 102, first published 1865 ; composed by Ernst Paul Flügel.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mélodie", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-09-13
Line count: 32
Word count: 163

Der Knab' ging zum Walde wohl tagelang
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Der Knab' ging zum Walde wohl tagelang,
  Wohl tagelang.
Dort hatt' er vernommen so seligen Sang,
  seligen Sang.

Der Knab' aus Schilf eine Flöte sich schnitzt,
  Flöte sich schnitzt,
Und prüft, ob der Ton wohl darinnen sitzt,
  Darinnen sitzt.

Es flüstert der Ton, und dann nannte er sich,
  Nannte er sich,
Doch kaum war er da, als er wieder entwich,
  Wieder entwich!

Oft wenn er schlummert, dann naht' er leis,
  Naht' er leis,
Bestrich ihm die Stirne mit Liebe so heiss,
  Liebe so heiss.

Wollt' ihn dann fangen, doch schnell er erwacht,
  Schnell er erwacht.
Denn fest hing der Ton in der bleichen Nacht,
  Bleichen Nacht.

Herr, o mein Gott, ach nimm mich zu dir,
  nimm mich zu dir.
Der Ton hat verzaubert die Sinne mir,
  Sinne mir.

Der Herr versetzte: "Er ist dir ja hold,
  Ist dir ja hold! 
Wenn auch nie eine Stunde er bleiben wollt',
  Bleiben wollt!"

Ach, weiss doch manch' herrliche Melodie,
  Melodie! 
Doch diese such ich und finde sie nie! 
  Finde sie nie! --

About the headline (FAQ)

Sometimes titled "Der Ton im Walde"

Text Authorship:

  • by Edmund Lobedanz (1820 - 1882), no title, appears in Björnstjerne Björnson's Bauernnovellen, Hildburghausen, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, p. 102, first published 1865 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Norwegian (Bokmål) by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832 - 1910), "Tonen", appears in Arne
    • Go to the text page.

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

  • by Ernst Paul Flügel (1844 - 1912), "Der Knab' ging zum Walde", op. 11 no. 3, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder aus den Bauernnovellen von Björnstjerne Björnson für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, no. 3, Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2012-06-13
Line count: 32
Word count: 168

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has 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 help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris