English translations of Fünf Lieder, opus 5
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Dem Schnee, dem Regen, Dem Wind entgegen, Im Dampf der Klüfte, Durch Nebeldüfte, Immer zu! Immer zu! Ohne Rast und Ruh! Lieber durch Leiden Wollt' ich mich schlagen, Als so viel Freuden Des Lebens ertragen. Alle das Neigen Von Herzen zu Herzen, Ach wie so eigen Schaffet es Schmerzen! Wie soll ich flieh'n Wälderwärts zieh'n Alles, alles vergebens! Krone des Lebens, Glück ohne Ruh, Liebe, bist du!
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Rastlose Liebe", written 1776, first published 1789
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To the snow, to the rain To the wind opposed, In the mist of the ravines Through the scent of fog, Always on! Always on! Without rest and peace! I would rather through suffering Fight myself, Than so many joys Of life endure. All the inclining Of heart to heart, Ah, how curiously that creates pain! Where shall I flee? To the forest move? All in vain! Crown of life, Happiness without peace, Love, are you!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 1997 by Lynn Thompson, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Rastlose Liebe", written 1776, first published 1789
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 76
Ich denke dein, wenn mir der Sonne Schimmer Vom Meere strahlt; Ich denke dein, wenn sich des Mondes Schimmer In Quellen mahlt. Ich sehe dich, wenn auf dem fernen Wege Der Staub sich hebt; In tiefer Nacht, wenn auf dem schmalen Wege Der Wandrer bebt. Ich höre dich, wenn dort mit dumpfem Rauschen Die Welle steigt. Im stillen Hain, da geh ich oft zu lauschen, Wenn alles schweigt. Ich bin bei dir, du seyst auch noch so ferne, Du bist mir nah! Die Sonne sinkt, es leuchten mir die Sterne. O wärst du da!
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Nähe des Geliebten", written 1795, first published 1795
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Note: Wilhelmj's score has a typo in stanza 1, line 3: word 5 is "dich" instead of "sich".
I think of you when the sunlight shimmers, beaming from the sea1; I think of you when the moon's gleam paints the streams. I see you when, on distant roads, the dust rises up; in deep night, when on the narrow bridge a traveler quivers. I hear you when there, with a muffled roar, the waves rise. In the still grove I go often to listen, when everything is silent. I am with you, even if you are so far away. You are near me! The sun sinks, and soon the stars will shine for me. O, if only you were here!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Nähe des Geliebten", written 1795, first published 1795
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View original text (without footnotes)Translation of title "Nähe des Geliebten" = "Near the beloved"
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 102
Das Wasser rauscht', das Wasser schwoll, Ein Fischer saß daran, Sah nach dem Angel ruhevoll, Kühl bis ans Herz hinan. Und wie er sitzt und wie er lauscht, Theilt sich die Fluth empor; Aus dem bewegten Wasser rauscht Ein feuchtes Weib hervor. Sie sang zu ihm, sie sprach zu ihm: Was lockst du meine Brut Mit Menschenwitz und Menschenlist Hinauf in Todesgluth? Ach wüßtest du, wie's Fischlein ist So wohlig auf dem Grund, Du stiegst herunter wie du bist Und würdest erst gesund. Labt sich die liebe Sonne nicht, Der Mond sich nicht im Meer? Kehrt wellenathmend ihr Gesicht Nicht doppelt schöner her? Lockt dich der tiefe Himmel nicht, Das feuchtverklärte Blau? Lockt dich dein eigen Angesicht Nicht her in ew'gen Thau? Das Wasser rauscht', das Wasser schwoll, Netzt' ihm den nackten Fuß; Sein Herz wuchs ihm so sehnsuchtsvoll Wie bei der Liebsten Gruß. Sie sprach zu ihm, sie sang zu ihm; Da war's um ihn geschehn: Halb zog sie ihn, halb sank er hin, Und ward nicht mehr gesehn.
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Fischer", written 1778?, first published 1779
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Note: the Eberwein score has a likely misprint in stanza 1, line 8, word 4: "empor".
The water roared, the water swelled; a fisherman sat beside, gazing calmly at his fishing line, cool to his very heart. And as he sits there and as he listens, the waves split and from the turbulent water a watery woman bursts up. She sang to him, and spoke to him: "Why do you lure my children with your human wit and cunning, up here to this deadly glow? Ah, if you only knew how pleasant the tiny fish find it below the surface, you would come down, just as you are, and you would be well for the first time. Does not the dear sun refresh itself and the moon as well, in the sea? Do they not turn their faces, breathing the waves and thus becoming doubly fair? Aren't you tempted by the deep sky, the moist and transfiguring blue? Aren't you tempted by your own face shining in the eternal dew?" The water roared, the water swelled, and moistened his naked foot; and his heart filled with the longing that he felt at the greeting of his beloved. She spoke to him, and sang to him; then all was done for him; half pulled by her and half sinking himself, he went down and was never seen again.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Fischer", written 1778?, first published 1779
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 211
Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage, Jene Tage der ersten Liebe, Ach wer bringt nur eine Stunde Jener holden Zeit zurück! Einsam nähr' ich meine Wunde Und mit stets erneuter Klage Traur' ich um's verlorne Glück. Ach, wer bringt die schönen Tage, Wer jene holde Zeit zurück!
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Erster Verlust", first published 1789
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First written 1785 by Goethe for his fragmentary Singspiel "Die ungleichen Hausgenossen" (Arie der Baronesse, Act II), with different stanzas 2 and 3.
Ah, who will bring back those beautiful days - those days of first love? Ah, who will bring back even just one hour of that lovely time? Lonely, I nourish my wound and with constantly renewed laments, I mourn my lost happiness. Ah, who will bring back those beautiful days - that lovely time?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Erster Verlust", first published 1789
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 52
Es war ein König in Thule Gar treu bis an das Grab, Dem sterbend seine Buhle Einen goldnen Becher gab. Es ging ihm nichts darüber, Er leert' ihn jeden Schmaus; Die Augen gingen ihm über, So oft er trank daraus. Und als er kam zu sterben, Zählt' er seine Städt' im Reich, Gönnt' alles seinen Erben, Den Becher nicht zugleich. Er saß beim Königsmahle, Die Ritter um ihn her, Auf hohem Vätersaale, Dort auf dem Schloß am Meer. Dort stand der alte Zecher, Trank letzte Lebensgluth, Und warf den heil'gen Becher Hinunter in die Fluth. Er sah ihn stürzen, trinken, Und sinken tief ins Meer. Die Augen täten ihm sinken; Trank nie einen Tropfen mehr.
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der König in Thule", written 1774, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I), Margarete's song, first published 1782
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First published in a different version in Volks- und andere Lieder, mit Begleitung des Forte piano, In Musik gesetzt von Siegmund Freyherrn von Seckendorff. Dritte Sammlung. Dessau, 1782, pages 6-9; see below.
See also "Het dartele water bruiselt", a poem by Pol de Mont written to be sung to Schumann's song "Der König von Thule".
There was a King of Thule, faithful to the grave, to whom his dying beloved gave a golden goblet. Nothing was more valuable to him: he drained it in every feast; and his eyes would overflow whenever he drank from it. And when he neared death, he counted the cities of his realm and left everything gladly to his heir - except for the goblet. He sat at his kingly feast, his knights about him, in the lofty hall of ancestors, there in the castle by the sea. There, the old wine-lover stood, took a last draught of life's fire, and hurled the sacred goblet down into the waters. He watched it plunge, fill up, and sink deep into the sea. His eyes then sank closed and he drank not one drop more.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der König in Thule", written 1774, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I), Margarete's song, first published 1782
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 132