Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Zum Wald, zum Wald [da steht]1 mein Sinn
So einzig, ach, so einzig hin!
Da lebt man glücklich, frei und froh,
Und nirgends, nirgends lebt man so!
Geliebter Forst, mit mir vertraut,
Wie mit dem Bräutigam die Braut,
Dich sing ich nur, dir bleib' ich treu,
Denn ewig bist du schön und neu.
Schön bist du, wenn der Lenz dich schmückt,
Dein junges Grün mein Aug' entzückt,
Und deiner Sänger Lied erschallt,
Daß froh das Echo wiederhallt.
Im heißen Sommer such' ich dich[,]
Dann birgt dein kühler Schatten mich,
Dann labt im traulichen Gebüsch
Mich manches Quellchen, kühl und frisch.
Im Herbste prangst du, schön schattirt,
Mit neuen Reizen ausgeziert,
Bis Boreas, der dich entlaubt,
Dich deines letzten Schmucks beraubt.
Doch auch im Winter lächelst du
Dem rüst'gen Jäger freundlich zu,
Wenn Schnee, der nur den Weichling schreckt,
Des Wildes Fährten ihm entdeckt.
O! wunderselig ist der Mann,
Der deinem Dienst sich weihen kann.
Mir Glücklichen ward dieses Heil
Nach langem Schmachten noch zu Theil.
Im selbsterzog'nen Lerchenhain
Soll einst mein stilles Grabmal seyn;
Zum Wald, zum Wald da steht mein Sinn
So einzig -- ach, so einzig hin!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Wald und Wild. Allgemeines Liederbuch für Deutschlands Forst- und Weidmänner, Kiel: Universitäts-Buchhandlung J.C.F. von Maack, 1827, pages 16-17.
1 Bruch: "steht nur"; further changes may exist not noted above.Text Authorship:
- by Ludwig Carl Eberhard Heinrich Friedrich von Wildungen (1754 - 1822), no title, appears in Wald und Wild. Allgemeines Liederbuch für Deutschlands Forst- und Weidmänner [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 Max Bruch (1838 - 1920), "Im Wald", op. 4 (Drei Duette für Soprano und Alt mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3, published 1859 [ duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustav Rebling (1821 - 1902), "Sehnsucht nach dem Walde", op. 7 (Fünf Quartette für Sopran, Alt, Tenor und Bass) no. 1, published 1847 [ SATB quartet a cappella ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2015-06-09
Line count: 32
Word count: 190
For the woods, for the woods my spirit
Yearns solely, ah, solely!
There one lives happily, free and joyful,
And nowhere, nowhere [else] does one live like that!
Beloved forest, as intimately known to me
As a bride is to her bridegroom,
I sing only of you, I remain faithful to you,
For you are eternally beautiful and new.
You are beautiful when spring adorns you,
Your new verdure enraptures my eyes,
And the song of your singers rings out
So that the echo happily answers it.
In the hot summer I seek you,
Then your cool shadows offer me sanctuary,
Then in the close and comforting bushes
Many a water-spring, cool and fresh, revives me.
In the autumn you stand in splendour, beautifully shaded,
Graced with new allurements,
Until the North Wind, who defoliates you,
Robs you of your last adornment
Yet even in winter you smile at
The hale hunter in a friendly manner,
When snow, which only daunts a weakling,
Reveals the tracks of game to him.
Oh wondrously happy is the man
Who can devote himself to your service.
To me, the lucky one, this salvation
Was still granted after a long yearning for it.
In the grove of larches that I raised myself
My quiet gravestone shall someday lie;
For the woods, for the woods my spirit
Yearns solely, ah, solely!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translated titles:"Im Wald" = "In the woods"
"Sehnsucht nach dem Walde" = "Longing for the woods"
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Ludwig Carl Eberhard Heinrich Friedrich von Wildungen (1754 - 1822), no title, appears in Wald und Wild. Allgemeines Liederbuch für Deutschlands Forst- und Weidmänner
This text was added to the website: 2015-06-09
Line count: 32
Word count: 227