English translations of Drei Lieder für Bariton, opus 9

I sat in the woods upon grass and moss,
My fiddle lay in my lap
And my bow in the flowers.
I was so utterly alone
And on top of that I was broke,
And love and joy had flown away.

Many things passed through my mind,
Snapping and strumming, my fingers
Gently moved over the strings.
I hardly heard it owing to my moping,
God knows! I even believe there was
A moistness upon my eyelashes.

I had never felt myself to be
So disinclined to all tasks
And I am well travelled.
My marshal was called Mr. Hardship,
My cup-bearer [was called] Bend-Down-to-the Brook,
My head chef [was called] Empty-Cupboard.

The following day at the Wreath of Rue
There was a wedding, feasting, and bridal dance,
There was plenty of fiddling needed.
The girls laughed, no jug remained empty,
My purse was full, my knapsack heavy,
And the world belonged to me once more.

Spring has come
To the waiting land,
Has wrapped around itself
Its flower-garb;
From the branches there sounds
The birds’ singing,
After sorrowing and silence
A sound of greeting.
A yearning stirs, joy blossoms,
Go forth, my song, from my pulsing bosom!

Into the distance strives
That which is free and swift,
The stars go wandering
And the waters and the wind.
The clouds in the sky
Seethe and weave, --
To float with them
Is my most blissful dream.
You do not grasp the lightning bolt by its smashing shaft.
Me, too, you do not hold in fetters and confinement.

I have borne
The secret pain,
No longer in lamentations
Do I console my heart.
I wish to wield the spear
Upon a snorting steed
And my harp and my sword
Shall sing and resound.
I ride like a storm that splits the oak,
Out into freedom, out into the world!

With rustling plumage
A swan passes over me,
At my feet it let fall
Three feathers.

I shall sharpen the first one
And with it I shall write a final greeting,
Since I must part from her
And go a-wandering again.

The second one I shall place
Upon my grey hat,
[This feather] shall again awaken within me
The happy desire to wander.

The third one I shall let travel
Wherever it pleases the wind to take it,
It shall show me the way
Into the wide, wide world.