Early autumn | Lo, the spirited brightness of autumn

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Christian Morgenstern (1871 - 1914)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Früh‑Herbst

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Sieh, des Herbstes Geisteshelle
klärt und adelt die Gelände;
Erdenbreiten, Himmelswände
kost dieselbe lautre Welle.

O du glückversunken Säumen,
eh' die Sommerfarben sterben!
O du letztes Liebeswerben
aus den unbegriffnen Räumen!

Daß mir so die Seele leuchte,
wann ich einst des Winters werde!
Und in meines Auges Feuchte
spiegelt sich der Schmelz der Erde.

Confirmed with Christian Morgenstern, Gedichte, Auswahl aus dem Gesamtwerk und Nachwort von Margareta Morgenstern, München: R. Piper & Co Verlag, 1959, page 152.

Text Authorship:

by Christian Morgenstern (1871 - 1914), "Früh-Herbst" [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 Rudolf Jaggi (b. 1940), "Früh-Herbst", 1997 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Morgenstern-Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Early autumn", copyright © 2024, (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: 2008-08-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 54

Early autumn

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Lo, the spirited brightness of autumn
purifies and ennobles the countryside;
the breadths of the earth, the walls of the sky
are caressed by the same pure wave.

Oh you tarrying, sunken in happiness,
before the summer's colours die!
Oh you last courting of love
from the incomprehensible expanses!

That my soul might shine thus
when someday winter takes me!
And in the moistness of my eye
the lustre of the world is reflected.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Christian Morgenstern (1871 - 1914), "Früh-Herbst"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-09-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 74