Der Mensch vergißt die Sorgen aus dem Geiste,
Der Frühling aber blüht, und prächtig ist das meiste,
Das grüne Feld ist herrlich ausgebreitet,
Da glänzend schön der Bach hinuntergleitet.
 
Die Berge stehn bedecket mit den Bäumen,
Und herrlich ist die Luft in offnen Räumen,
Das weite Tal ist in der Welt gedehnet
Und Turm und Haus an Hügeln angelehnet.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the original poem is signed: "Mit Untertänigkeit Scardanelli". [Note added by Sharon Krebs, August 6, 2008]. In his madness Hölderlin seemed convinced sometimes that his name was Scardanelli. [Note added by Emily Ezust, August 6, 2008]

Text Authorship:

• by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Der Frühling IV", written 1839, appears in Späteste Gedichte 1806-1843 [author's text not yet checked 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 Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Der Frühling", 1982-91 [ tenor and piano ], from Hölderlin-Lieder: Erster Zyklus, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Pierre Jean Jouve (1887 - 1976) , "Le printemps", appears in Poèmes de la folie d'Hölderlin, in Poésie des derniers temps, Paris, Éd. Fourcade, first published 1929-30, copyright © ; composed by Henri-Pierre Poupard, as Henri Sauguet.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Spring", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2007-09-25
Line count: 8
Word count: 59

Mankind forgets cares - [banishing them] from its spirit,
Springtime blooms, however, and magnificent is most of it,
The green meadow is gloriously spread out,
Where the stream glides downward, gleaming in beauty.

The mountains stand cloaked with trees,
And glorious is the air in the wide-open spaces,
The broad valley stretches out into the world
And tower and house lean against the hills.