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'S war doch wie ein leises Singen In dem Garten heute Nacht, Wie wenn laue Lüfte gingen: "Süße Glöcklein, nun erwacht, Denn die warme Zeit wir bringen, Eh's noch Jemand hat gedacht." -- 'S war kein Singen, s' war ein Küssen, Rührt' die stillen Glöcklein sacht, Daß sie alle tönen müssen Von der künft'gen bunten Pracht. Ach, sie konnten 's nicht erwarten, Aber weiß vom letzten Schnee War noch immer Feld und Garten, Und sie sanken um vor Weh. So schon manche Dichter streckten Sangesmüde sich hinab, Und der Frühling, den sie weckten, Rauschet über ihrem Grab.
Confirmed with Joseph von Eichendorff, Sämtliche Gedichte und Versepen, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 2001, pages 418-419.
Text Authorship:
- by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Schneeglöckchen", appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 97
For it was like a quiet singing In the garden this past night, As if warm breezes were saying: "Sweet little bells, now wake up, For we are bringing warm weather Sooner than anyone might have thought." It was not a singing, it was a kissing, It gently touched the silent little bells, So that they all had to ring out the tidings Of the coming colourful splendour. Ah, they could not await it, But the fields and gardens Were still white from the last snowfall And the snowdrops sank to the ground for woe. Thus many poets have already Lain down, weary of singing, And the springtime that they wakened Soughs over their graves.
Translator's note: The German word for "snowdrop" translates literally as "snow-bell", hence all the bell-ringing imagery in the poem.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Schneeglöckchen", appears in Gedichte, in 4. Frühling und Liebe
Go to the general view
This text was added to the website: 2022-11-23
Line count: 18
Word count: 116