English translations of Neun Lieder und Gesänge, opus 63

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

1. Frühlingstrost
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Frühlingstrost", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 1 (1874) [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es weht um mich Narzissenduft
Es spricht zu mir die Frühlingsluft:
Geliebter,
Erwach im roten Morgenglanz,
Dein harrt ein blütenreicher Kranz,
Betrübter!

Nur mußt du kämpfen drum und tun
Und länger nicht in Träumen ruhn;
Laß schwinden!
Komm, Lieber, komm aufs Feld hinaus,
Du wirst im grünen Blätterhaus
Ihn finden.

Wir sind dir alle wohlgesinnt,
Du armes, liebebanges Kind,
Wir Düfte;
Warst immer treu uns Spielgesell,
Drum dienen willig dir und schnell
Die Lüfte.

Zur Liebsten tragen wir dein Ach
Und kränzen ihr das Schlafgemach
Mit Blüten.
Wir wollen, wenn du von ihr gehst
Und einsam dann und traurig stehst,
Sie hüten.

Erwach im morgenroten Glanz,
Schon harret dein der Myrtenkranz,
Geliebter!
Der Frühling kündet gute Mär',
Und nun kein Ach, kein Weinen mehr,
Betrübter!

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by (Gottlob Ferdinand) Max(imilian) Gottfried von Schenkendorf (1783 - 1817)
1. Spring comfort
Language: English 
The fragrance of narcissus wafts about me;
It speaks to me, the spring air:
 Beloved,
 Awaken in the red glow of morning;
 Awaiting you is a wreath rich in blossoms,
Sad man!

 Only you must struggle for it, and act,
 And no longer repose in dreams;
 Let them fade!
 Come, my love, come out to the field,
 In the green house of leaves
 You will find it.

We are all well-disposed toward you,
You poor, love-timid child,
 We fragrances;
 You were always a true playmate to us,
 And for that we serve you willingly and quickly,
 We fragrances.

 To your beloved we carry your "Alas!",
 And we wreathe her bedroom
 With blossoms.
 We will, when you go from her
 And stand alone, then, and mournful,
 Watch over her.

 Awaken in the morning-red glow;
 Already awaits your myrtle wreath,
 Beloved!
 Spring announces good tidings,
 And now no "Alas!", no more weeping,
 Sad man!

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:

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    from the LiederNet Archive

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2. Erinnerung
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Erinnerung", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 2 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ihr wunderschönen Augenblicke,
Die Lieblichste der ganzen Welt
Hat euch mit ihrem ew'gen Glücke,
Mit ihrem süßen Licht erhellt.

Ihr Stellen, ihr geweihten Plätze,
Ihr trugt ja das geliebte Bild,
Was Wunder habt ihr, was für Schätze
Vor meinen Augen dort enthüllt!

Ihr Gärten all, ihr grünen Haine,
Du Weinberg in der süßen Zier,
Es nahte sich die Hehre, Reine,
In Züchten gar zu freundlich mir.

Ihr Worte, die sie da gesprochen,
Du schönstes, halbverhauchtes Wort,
Dein Zauberbann wird nie gebrochen,
Du klingst und wirkest fort und fort.

Ihr wunderschönen Augenblicke,
Ihr lacht und lockt in ew'gem Reiz.
Ich schaue sehnsuchtsvoll zurücke
Voll Schmerz und Lust und Liebesgeiz.

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by (Gottlob Ferdinand) Max(imilian) Gottfried von Schenkendorf (1783 - 1817)
2. Remembrance
Language: English 
You wondrously beautiful moments:
The most lovely girl in the entire world
Has, with her eternal good fortune,
Illuminated you with her sweet light.

You places, you consecrated places,
You enclosed her beloved figure;
What wonders, what treasures you have
Before my eyes there unveiled!

You gardens all, you green groves,
You vineyards in sweet array,
She approached me, the lofty, pure woman,
With elegance and friendliness.

You words, that she there spoke,
You fairest, half-breathed word,
Your magical spell will never break;
You will ever resound and move me, on and on.

You wondrously beautiful moments,
You laugh and lure with everlasting appeal.
I gaze yearningly back,
Full of pain and joy, and greed for love.

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 Archive

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3. An ein Bild
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "An ein Bild", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 3 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Was schaust du mich so freundlich an,
O Bild aus weiter Ferne,
Und winkest dem verbannten Mann?
Er käme gar zu gerne.

Die ganze Jugend tut sich auf,
Wenn ich an dich gedenke,
Als ob ich noch den alten Lauf
Nach deinem Hause lenke.

Gleich einem, der ins tiefe Meer
Die Blicke läßt versinken,
Nicht sieht, nicht hört, ob um ihn her
Viel tausend Schätze winken.

Gleich einem, der am Firmament
Nach fernem Sterne blicket,
Nur diesen kennt, nur diesen nennt
Und sich an ihm entzücket:

Ist all mein Sehnen, all mein Mut
In dir, o Bild, gegründet,
Und immer noch von gleicher Glut,
Von gleicher Lust entzündet.

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by (Gottlob Ferdinand) Max(imilian) Gottfried von Schenkendorf (1783 - 1817)
3. To a portrait
Language: English 
Why do you look at me so kindly,
 O portrait from a far-off place,
 And why do you beckon to the banished man?
 He would come only too gladly.

My entire youth returns
When I think of you,
As if I were again on the old path
 Toward your house.

 Like one who into the deep sea
 Lets his gaze sink,
 Neither seeing nor hearing if around him
 Many thousands of treasures beckon;

 Like one who toward the heavens
 Gazes after a distant star,
 Recognizing only one, naming only one,
 And delighting in it:

 So is all my yearning - all my courage
 Gathered from you, o portrait;
 And even now ignites with the same passion,
 With the same joy.

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 Archive

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4. An die Tauben
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "An die Tauben", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 4 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Fliegt nur aus, geliebte Tauben!
Euch als Boten send' ich hin;
Sagt ihr, und sie wird euch glauben,
Daß ich krank vor Liebe bin.

Ihr könnt fliegen, ihr könnt eilen,
Tauben, froh bergab und -an;
Ich muß in der Fremde weilen,
Ewig ein gequälter Mann.

Auch mein Brieflein soll noch gehen
Heut zu ihr, mein Liebesgruß,
Soll sie suchen auf den Höhen,
An dem schönen, grünen Fluß.

Wird sie von den Bergen steigen
Endlich in das Niederland?
Wird sie mir die Sonne zeigen,
Die zu lange schon verschwand?

Vögel, Briefe, Liebesboten,
Lied und Seufzer, sagt ihr's hell:
Suche ihn im Reich der Toten,
Liebchen, oder komme schnell!

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by (Gottlob Ferdinand) Max(imilian) Gottfried von Schenkendorf (1783 - 1817)
4. To the pigeons
Language: English 
Fly away, beloved pigeons!
 I send you forth as messengers;
 Tell her, and she will believe you,
 That I am sick with love.

 You can fly, you can hurry,
 Pigeons, merrily up and down the mountains;
 I must tarry in this foreign place,
 Ever a tormented man.

 And my little letter should also go
 Today to her, with my love-greeting,
 Should seek her among the heights,
 By the fair, green river.

 Will she finally descend from the mountains
 Into the lowlands?
 Will she show me the sun,
 That disappeared so long ago?

 Birds, letters, messages of love,
 Song and sighs, tell her clearly:
 Search for him in the land of the dead,
 My darling, or come quickly!

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 Archive

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5. Junge Lieder I
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Junge Lieder I", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 5 (1873), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Meine Liebe ist grün wie der Fliederbusch,
und mein Lieb ist schön wie die Sonne,
die glänzt wohl herab auf den Fliederbusch
und füllt ihn mit Duft und mit Wonne.

Meine Seele hat Schwingen der Nachtigall,
und wiegt sich in blühendem Flieder,
und jauchzet und singet vom Duft berauscht
viel liebestrunkene Lieder.

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by Felix Schumann (1854 - 1879)
5. Songs of youth I
Language: English 
My love is as green as the lilac bush,
And my love is as fair as the sun, 
which gleams down on the lilacbush
and fills it with fragrance and bliss.

My soul has the wings of a nightingale
and rocks itself in blooming lilac,
and, intoxicated by the fragrance, cheers and sings
a good many love-drunk songs.

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,
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6. Junge Lieder II
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Junge Lieder II", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 6 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wenn um den Holunder der Abendwind kost
Und der Falter um den Jasminenstrauch,
Dann kos' ich mit meinem Liebchen auch
Auf der Steinbank schattig und weich bemoost.

Und wenn vom Dorfe die Glocke erschallt
Und der Lerche jubelndes Abendgebet,
Dann schweigen wir auch, und die Seele zergeht
Vor der Liebe heiliger Gottesgewalt.

Und blickt dann vom Himmel der Sterne Schar
Und das Glühwürmchen in der Lilie Schoß,
Dann lasse ich sie aus den Armen los
Und küsse ihr scheidend das Augenpaar.

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by Felix Schumann (1854 - 1879)
6. Songs of youth II
Language: English 
 When the evening wind caresses the elder tree
 And the moth the jasmine branch,
 Then I caress my sweetheart as well,
 On the stone bench, shadowy and soft with moss.

 And when from the village comes the sound of bells,
 And the lark's jubilant evening prayer,
 Then we fall silent and our souls dissolve
 From Love's sacred, divine power.

 And then from the heavens gaze a host of stars,
 And the glow-worms appear in the lily's lap;
 Then I let my arms fall,
 And kiss her two eyes as we part.

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 Archive

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7. Heimweh I
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Heimweh I", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 7 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wie traulich war das Fleckchen,
Wo meine Wiege ging,
Kein Bäumchen war, kein Heckchen,
Das nicht voll Träume hing.

Wo nur ein Blümchen blühte,
Da blühten gleich sie mit,
Und alles sang und glühte
Mir zu bei jedem Schritt.

Ich wäre nicht gegangen,
Nicht für die ganze Welt! -
Mein Sehnen, mein Verlangen,
Hier ruht's in Wald und Feld.

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by Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899)
7. Homesickness I
Language: English 
 How cozy was the spot
 Where my cradle rocked,
 There was not a tree nor hedge
 That wasn't hung full of dreams.

 Wherever a flower bloomed,
 There also bloomed dreams along with it,
 And everything sang and glowed
 To me as I took each step.

 I would not have left,
 Not for the whole world! -
 My longing, my yearning,
 Dwells here in wood and field.

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:

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8. Heimweh II
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Heimweh II", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 8 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
O wüßt ich doch den Weg zurück,
Den lieben Weg zum Kinderland!
O warum sucht' ich nach dem Glück
Und ließ der Mutter Hand?

O wie mich sehnet auszuruhn,
Von keinem Streben aufgeweckt,
Die müden Augen zuzutun,
Von Liebe sanft bedeckt!

Und nichts zu forschen, nichts zu spähn,
Und nur zu träumen leicht und lind;
Der Zeiten Wandel nicht zu sehn,
Zum zweiten Mal ein Kind!

O zeig mir doch den Weg zurück,
Den lieben Weg zum Kinderland!
Vergebens such ich nach dem Glück,
Ringsum ist öder Strand!

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by Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899)
8. Homesickness II
Language: English 
Oh if only I knew the way back,
The well-loved road to the land of childhood!
Oh why did I seek my fortune
And leave my mother's hand?

Oh how I yearn to have a rest,
Not to be awakened for striving,
To close my weary eyes,
To be covered gently with love!

And to quest for nothing, to spy on nothing,
And only to dream, simply and gently,
Not to notice the alterations of Time,
But to be for a second time, a child!

Oh, show me then the way back,
The well-loved road to the land of childhood!
In vain I seek my fortune,
All around me is desolate sand!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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 Archive

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Translation of title "Heimweh II" = "Homesickness II"



This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 112

Translation © by Emily Ezust
9. Heimweh III
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Heimweh III", op. 63 (Neun Lieder und Gesänge) no. 9 (1874), published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ich sah als Knabe Blumen blühn -
Ich weiß nicht mehr, was war es doch?
Ich sah die Sonne drüber glühn -
Mich dünkt, ich seh' es noch.

Es war ein Duft, es war ein Glanz,
Die Seele sog ihn durstend ein.
Ich pflückte sie zu einem Kranz - 
Wo mag er blieben sein?

Ich such' an jedem Blümchen nach
Um jenen Schmelz, um jenes Licht,
Ich forsche jeden Sommertag -
Doch solche find' ich nicht.

Ihr wußtet nimmer, was ich trieb?
Ich suchte meinen alten Kranz.
Er war so frisch, so licht, so lieb -
Es war der Jugendglanz.

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by Klaus Groth (1819 - 1899)
9. Homesickness III
Language: English 
As a boy, I saw flowers blooming -
I don't know any longer - what was it then?
I saw the sun glowing above -
It seems to me I see it yet.

There was a fragrance, there was a radiance;
My soul drank it thirstily in.
I plucked them and made a wreath -
Where can it be?

I seek now on every blossom
For that certain sheen, that certain light -
I search every summer's day,
Yet I have found no such thing.

You never knew what I was doing?
I was searching for my old wreath.
It was so fresh, so light, so lovely -
It was the luster of youth.

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 Archive

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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 108

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