Ah, if I could only find a trace of you

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by Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ach fänd ich deine Spuren bloß

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Ach fänd ich deine Spuren bloß --
Wie wollt ich gehn, wie wollt ich spähn! --
Der Wald ist kahl und blätterlos,
Und du bist fort, bist nicht zu sehn.
 
Der Wald ist kahl und öd der Steig,
Und mir ist trüb' und mir ist schwer.
Die Blätter modern in dem Teich,
Es grünt nicht mehr, es blüht nicht mehr.
 
Ach schallte mir dein leichter Gang
Wie Vogelsang, wie Vogelschritt!
Mir brächt er Blumen und Gesang
Und Frühling mit, den Frühling mit!
 
Mir brächt er, was so lieblich war,
Wie Sonnenlicht, wie Mondenlicht,
Er brächte mir dein Augenpaar,
Dein Angesicht, dein Angesicht!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Jenner

G. Jenner sets stanzas 2-4

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View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Klaus Groth's Gesammelte Werke, Vierter Band (Plattdeutsche Erzählungen -- Hochdeutsche Gedichte), Kiel und Leipzig: Verlag con Lipsius & Tischer, 1893, page 242.

Note: Hofmeister indicates "Der Wald ist kalt" as the incipit of Homberg's setting, as Challier does for Jenner's; but these appear to be typos. The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin card catalogue shows "kahl" for Homberg's incipit, and the score of Jenner's setting shows "kahl" in the music as well.

Text Authorship:

by Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899), no title, written 1859 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-05-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 105

Ah, if I could only find a trace of you

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Ah, if I could only find a trace of you --
How would I walk, how would I keep a lookout! --
The woods are bare and leafless,
And you are gone, are not to be seen.
 
The forest is leafless and desolate the path,
And I feel bleak and I feel weighed down.
The leaves are mouldering in the pond,
No green any longer, no blossoming any longer.
 
Ah, if I could only hear your light footfall
Like the song, like the stepping of a bird
It would bring me flowers and singing
And springtime, springtime!
 
It would bring me that which was so lovely,
Like sunlight, like moonlight,
It would bring me your eyes,
Your face, your face!

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes
Translated titles:
"Dein Angesicht" = "Your face"
"Der Wald ist kahl" = "The woods are bare"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 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 Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899), no title, written 1859
- Go to the text page.

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This text was added to the website: 2015-10-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 123