by
Ernst Karl Engelhardt (1788 - 1835), as Orion Julius
Blättchen, das im losen Spiel
Language: German (Deutsch) after the French (Français)
Blättchen, das im losen Spiel
Winde durch die Lüfte jagen,
Blättchen! Kannst du mir nicht sagen:
Wo ist deiner Wandrung Ziel?
Wo? ward mir noch selbst nicht kund;
Von dem Stamm, der mich getragen,
Durch der Stürme Macht verschlagen
Pilgr’ ich auf der Erde Rund.
Ohne Willen, ohne Wahl
Schweb’ ich sorglos durch die Wälder;
Durch Gebüsche, über Felder,
Über Hügel, Strom und Thal.
Dort, wo Alles hin muß gehn,
Wie der Lorbeer so die Rose
[Einst]1 in der Vernichtung Schooße
Werden wir uns wiedersehn!
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• G. Gerson About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Abend-Zeitung [fourth volume], ed. by "Theodor Hell", Dresden: Arnoldischen Buchhandlung, 1818. Appears in issue no. 16, dated Dienstag, 20. Januar 1818, front page, no page numbers. The author is given here only as "O. J.", but the Carl Maria von Weber Gesamtausgabe website has more information about his full name.
Note: The first stanza is quoted in Mörike's poem Meiner Schwester.
1 Gerson: "Dort"
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2014-05-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 87
Little leaf, tossing playfully in the
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Little leaf, tossing playfully in the
winds rushing through the air,
Little leaf! Can’t you tell me:
What’s the goal of your wandering path?
Where? I haven’t found this out about myself;
From the trunk that supported me,
Torn off by the power of storms
I’m a pilgrim on this great Earth.
Without will, without choice,
I float carefree through the woods;
Through brush, over fields,
over hills, streams und valleys.
There, as everything goes,
Like the laurel and the rose
[Once there]1, in death’s womb
Will we see each other again!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
Translator's note: The first stanza is the voice of the poet, and the rest of the lines (after the first stanza) are the voice of the leaf.
1 Gerson: "There"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 by Laura Prichard, (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 Ernst Karl Engelhardt (1788 - 1835), as Orion Julius, "Das Laubblatt" [an adaptation]
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2024-10-31
Line count: 16
Word count: 95
