English translations of Vier fröhliche Lieder für Männerchor, opus 5

Hark, you dreaming fir forest,
Hark, you blooming hedges,
You woodpecker upon the tree-trunk, you hawk in the eyrie,
You deer in your hiding places,
You green lizard upon the rock,
You squirrel in the branches:
The loveliest girl in the whole wide world
Has said that she is mine.

One chap brought her flowers
Tied up all around with silk ribbons,
Another precious stones and even pearls,
A third serenaded her.
Along came a travelling journeyman,
No fripperies did he proffer,
He gazed into her bright eyes,
And kissed her lips, her rosy lips.

First she wept, then she threatened,
Finally she embraced me tightly;
The distress of yearning love
Forced her heart toward mine.
And were the glory of the kingdom
Offered to me in trade by the emperor,
I would say: Lord Emperor, I am sorry for you,
Go onward in peace, Lord Emperor.

Now rush more loudly, you waterfall!
Join in with my happiness;
Swing all your bells and little bells,
You flowers of the hearth;
Sing your most beautiful melodies, 
You finches upon the branches.
The loveliest girl in the whole wide world
Has said that she is mine.

The sun went down sedately,
One star followed the sun,
It glowed so brightly and merrily.
"You little star, do not go to rest yet,
Twinkle at me for a while yet;
For I am still wandering further!" --

The herd moved into the forest,
A dark-brown maiden behind it,
She glowed so freshly and merrily.
"Ah, maiden, do not go to rest yet,
Smile upon me yet a while,
Otherwise I shall not let you go on!"

The star went upon its way,
The maiden, she, too, did not stop,
How she laughed so briskly and merrily!
She called: "God greet you! farewell!" --
The star, yes, I shall see it again;
The maiden? -- -- Onward! onward!

One question plagues me sorely,
Puzzles me:
Do I remain at the inkwell today
Or do I go carousing?
Ha, for that I must just
Ask the oracle.
The number of my ribbon-knots
Shall tell me what to do.

Shall I go or not?
  Knot says: "Go!"
What the voice of fate decrees
  Must happen.

Yet another thing torments me quite
[And] causes me much worry:
Should I pay today in the Blue Pike,
Or should I borrow?
Ha, for that I must just
Ask the oracle.
The number of my ribbon-knots
Shall tell me what to do.

Do I pay or do I not pay?
  Knot says: "No!"
What the voice of fate decrees
  That must be.

Yet a third question
Causes me anxiety and pain:
Today, in the moonlit night,
Shall I go see my darling?
Ha, for that I must 
Ask the oracle.
The number of my ribbon-knots
Shall tell me what to do.

Do I go, or do I let it be today?
  "Let it be!" says the knot. --
He who does not defy fate
  Is an idiot.

Through the woods, how it shimmers so sunnily in the greenery,
Through the woods, how the bird-sounds rejoice!
And the hunting horn’s call and its echo,
They call and move, I already know whither.
  Through the woods, through the woods
  Soon the One shall come!
My heart and the merry woods are delighted by that. -- --

In the woods, how does it grow so dark and so still?
I hardly know if outside [the wood] the sun is still shining,
And the rushing of the brook, as if it were lamenting
And all because of her, who does not want to appear!
  Through the woods, through the woods
  Ah, if she would only come soon!
And the birds, they flutter so mutely through the woods. -- --

Hark! A sound like singing! and how it resounds so nearby!
Through the bushes, what is shimmering so colourfully there, so brightly! --
No bird sings like that, the well-spring does not gleam like that.
That was her voice -- she comes -- she is here!
  And a rejoicing sounds out,
  [A rejoicing] of all the birds in the woods,
My heart and the merry woods rejoice.