Song in folk-like manner | A birch stands in the forest

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by Theodor Souchay (1833 - 1903)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Lied im Volkston

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Im Wald steht eine Birke 
Mit Zweigen dicht belaubt, 
Inmitten dunkler Tannen 
Hebt sie ihr lichtes Haupt.

In ihre weiße Rinde 
Schnitt ich in seliger Zeit 
Viel zarte Liebesrunen 
Der herzallerliebsten Maid. 

Dort hat sie mich umfangen 
In wundersüßer Stund', 
Die Nachtigall sang so lieblich 
Im kühlen Thalesgrund.

Heut' wie an jenem Tage 
Singt sie so schmelzend, so süß, 
Da mich die Herzallerliebste 
Auf ewig, auf ewig verließ.

Liebste, Herzallerliebste
Und weilst du auch noch so fern, 
Ich habe doch nimmer vergessen 
Dich, meiner Jugend Stern.

Confirmed with Unsere Dichter in Wort und Bild, Band 1, Herausgegeben von Robert Claußner, Leipzig: Verlagsbuchhandlung von R. Claußner, 1891, page 109.

Text Authorship:

by Theodor Souchay (1833 - 1903), "Lied im Volkston" [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 Gustav Baldamus (1862 - 1933), "Lied im Volkston", op. 3 (Zwei Lieder für Männerchor) no. 1, published <<1894 [ men's chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Song in folk-like manner", 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: 2023-09-20
Line count: 20
Word count: 86

Song in folk‑like manner

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A birch stands in the forest,
Its branches thick with leaves,
In the midst of the dark firs
It lifts its radiant head.

Into its white bark,
In happy times,
I cut many tender runes of love
For my most beloved maiden.

T'was there that she embraced me
In a wondrously sweet hour,
The nightingale sang so beautifully
In the cool depths of the valley.

Today, as on that bygone day,
It sings so meltingly, so sweetly,
When my heart's most beloved
Has left me forever, forever.

Dearest, most beloved of my heart,
And though you tarry ever so far away,
I have never forgotten you,
The star of my youth.

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), "Lied im Volkston"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-10-12
Line count: 20
Word count: 111