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Ich hab dir Märchen oft erzählt Von meiner fremden Dichterwelt, Nun führ mich du an deiner warmen Hand, Den Flügelmüden, durch mein eignes Land! Führ mich in meinen tiefen Wald, Wo Wunderwesen mannigfalt Lebendig wandeln mit bekränztem Haupt, -- Die Götter alle, die ich einst geglaubt! Führ mich zu jenen Hügeln hin, Wo schweigsam die Zypressen knien, Dort liegen tief und lauschen auf den Wind Die Freunde, die mir treu gewesen sind. Führ mich in jener Gärten Grün, Wo dunkle Wunderbäume blühn Und über Grün und Wunderblüten schaut Das Liebesschloß, das ich für dich erbaut. In roten Lichtern heimlich glimmt Die Krone, die ich dir bestimmt. Wenn noch dein Herz an meine Allmacht glaubt, Dann schmücke mit dem schweren Gold dein Haupt! Dann hebt mein Leben neuen Lauf, Die treuen Toten stehen auf Und meiner Freudegötter schöne Schar, Und ich darf sein, der ich vor Zeiten war.
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 14-15.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), no title, written 1898, appears in Krankheit (Herbst 1898), no. 1 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Christian Immo Schneider (b. 1935), "Ich hab dir Märchen oft erzählt", op. 7 no. 9 [ high voice and piano ], from Zehn romantische Lieder für mittlere Stimme nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Sovint t’he explicat històries", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "I often told you fairy-tales", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-06-03
Line count: 24
Word count: 146
I often told you fairy-tales About my foreign world of poetry; Now, by your warm hand, lead me, The flight-weary one, through my own land! Lead me into my thick forest, Where myriad wondrous beings Walk, alive, with garlanded heads,-- All the gods in whom I once believed! Lead me to yonder hills, Where silently the cypresses kneel; There, deep [in the earth] and hearkening to the wind, Lie the friends who were true to me. Lead me into the greenery of yonder gardens, Where darksome wondrous trees bloom, And [where] above greenery and wondrous blossoms The castle of love that I built for you looks out. In red lights secretly gleams The crown that I decreed for you. If your heart still believes in my omnipotence, Then adorn your head with the heavy gold! Then my life is renewed, The faithful dead arise And the beauteous host of my gods of joy, And I am permitted to be who I was long ago.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), no title, written 1898, appears in Krankheit (Herbst 1898), no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2018-09-28
Line count: 24
Word count: 164