In the Black Forest | I ride slowly through the valley

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by Theodor Souchay (1833 - 1903)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ich reite langsam durch das Thal

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ich reite langsam durch das Thal,
Der Nebel hüllt die Glieder,
Die schwarzen Tannen schweigend stehn
Wie dunkle Schmerzensbrüder.

Sie horchen der geschäft'gen Axt
Und ihren klingenden Streichen,
Die bald mit ihrem scharfen Zahn
Auch sie wohl wird erreichen.

So stehn sie stumm und todtbereit
In hohen dunklen Gehegen.
In tiefem Schweigen reite ich
Auch meinem Tod entgegen.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Theodor Souchay, Gedichte, Stuttgart: Karl Aue, 1873, page 2.

Text Authorship:

by Theodor Souchay (1833 - 1903), no title, written 1866, appears in Gedichte, in Romanzen und Balladen, in Im Schwarzwald, no. 1, appears in Frisch vom Herzen! Lieder und Dichtungen, in 2. Die Lieder aus der "Goldnen Rose", no. 20 [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 Arno Kleffel (1840 - 1913), "Im Schwarzwald", op. 18 (Fünf Gesänge für eine tiefe Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1875 [ low voice and piano ], Berlin, Simon [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "In the Black Forest", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-09-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 58

In the Black Forest

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I ride slowly through the valley,
Fog shrouds my limbs,
The black fir trees stand silently
Like dark brethren of pain. 

They listen to the busy ax
And its ringing blows,
Which, with its sharp tooth, shall soon 
Reach them as well.

Thus they stand mute and ready for death
In high, dark enclosures.
In deep silence I, too,
Ride toward my death.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 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 Theodor Souchay (1833 - 1903), no title, written 1866, appears in Gedichte, in Romanzen und Balladen, in Im Schwarzwald, no. 1, appears in Frisch vom Herzen! Lieder und Dichtungen, in 2. Die Lieder aus der "Goldnen Rose", no. 20
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-09-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 63