Tomorrow is the first of May
      Hurray!
That is why, so beautifully, so beautifully the mountain peaks
Glow and flame in the setting sun.
That is why the last little cloud has passed away,
That is why the roads and paths sparkle so cleanly
From the storms and rains of April,
That is why everything, everything wishes to adorn itself.
That is why all the meadows shine with such freshness,
That is why the birds sing with a loud sound,
So that their jubilant cry rings out widely:
Tomorrow is the first of May
      Hurray!

Tomorrow is the first of May
      Hurray!
That is why [so many blossoms still burst open]1,
That is why the stream flows so rapidly,
That is why breezes blow so freshly through the [valley]2
And send the sweetest scent [to me]3,
That is why the forest is soughing freely and happily,
That is why my heart laughs so within my breast,
That is why I am moved so familiarly, so familiarly in my innermost being,
That is why as I wander [I must sing]4 so loudly
That my cry of jubilation [resounds]5 into the distance!
Tomorrow is the first of May
      Hurray!

  Dry the roads,
March wind!
Bless the pathways,
Violet scent!
  Tarry no longer, oh sunshine!
Springtime wishes to enter the land!

  Threaten away,
White heights!
The shimmer must flee
When the Föhn-wind blows!
  Rejoicing birds are already flying
High in the aether in defiance of the snow!

Only continue greening up,
Meadow and field!
Merrily continue
Greeting the world!
  Timid flowers! upon the broad plain
[Only]2 begin to bloom, all of you!

  Dry the roads,
March wind!
Bless the pathways,
Violet scent!
  Tarry no longer, oh sunshine!
Springtime wishes to enter the land!

  You splendid, bright blossoming tree,
Yes, if I could interpret your dream,
If I could understand the soughing of your branches,
[Could understand] what sweet words they are exchanging,
If I could understand what the violets 
Confess to each other secretly,
  Then I could sing it and utter it fully
  How rich, oh springtime, and how beautiful is your radiance!

  Forest birdlet, that which you sing beautifully,
[Ye]1 west winds, that which you wish to whisper,
If I could understand it, and, you bright brooklet,
That which your waves prattle merrily,
If it could be carried to me through the air
What the sun and the blue of heaven ask each other,
  Then I could sing it and utter it fully
  How rich, oh springtime, and how beautiful is your radiance!

  And if I could capture it in a song,
That which moves through my deepest heart,
If only my dream, my happiness, and my love
Did not remain buried in there,
If everything moved in the urgency of rejoicing
Through the world with rich resounding,
  Then I could sing it and utter it fully,
  How rich, oh springtime, and how beautiful is your radiance!

  Oh, how must you feel,
  Dear [birdlet]1
Upon the [slender]2 firs up there,
To praise the Lord undisturbed.
  If only I, too, could be so happy!

  Oh, how must you feel,
  Bright, clear brooklet in the forest!
With melodically sweet singing
To [penetrate]3 unseen through the moss.
  If only I, too, could be so happy!

  Oh, how must you feel,
  Fresh, red floweret in the forest!
With secret stillness to glow in the greenery,
To fade away then painlessly!
  If only I, too, could be so happy!

  It must be because it's Sunday
That every bush is now blossoming,
The air floats along in blueness,
The cloudlet gleams so beautifully!
  The birds must know it:
Today is the day of the Lord,
So that they are so assiduously and
Joyfully singing near and far!

The flowers must suspect it:
Oh, see how every one of them is listening!
The forest, too, wishes to remind you:
Hark, how it rushes and soughs!
  The wave flows so shimmeringly,
It, too, does not forget it!
And ah! how brightly the old snow
Sparkles in the sunlight!

  And everywhere a human is to be seen
Who wanders through the splendour
And greets the springtime meadows,
Ah! how his face smiles!
  And everyone today must anew
Sing a joyful song
With all the world around --
[A song] of God’s love and faithfulness!

Blue sky, clear breezes,
I greet you a thousand times,
And you first sweet scents,
And you golden sunbeam!
   Oh how my heart rejoices toward you,
   Lovely, lovely springtime, you!

Though you tarried long,
Finally, finally you have come after all;
And everything we dreamed while waiting
Has come to pass even more beautifully [than we dreamed]!
   In a trice, you make everything good,
   Lovely, lovely springtime, you!

Grow green, you meadows! you fields, adorn
Yourselves swiftly in praise of spring!
Foam, you brooks! sough, you forests!
Sing bright lays, you birds!
   Happily sing spring’s praises with us:
   Lovely, lovely springtime, you!

The winds lift their pinions,
The jubilation of springtime rings out:
Oh joy, to gaze into the heart
Of the forest from the flowery hill.

How every leaf is listening and whispering
And swaying for joy!
How the sun is smiling down
And does not grow tired of smiling!

How shyly the shadows of the clouds
Now fly hither in greeting,
And brush the tree-tops, and sway
Distantly and find no rest!

But I must rejoice and sing
Into your heart, burgeoning forest,
And must bring you my greetings
So that it echoes far down below.