English translations of Sechs Gesänge, opus 7

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

1. Treue Liebe
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Treue Liebe", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 1 (1852), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ein Mägdlein saß am Meerestrand
Und blickte voll Sehnsucht ins Weite.
»Wo bleibst du, mein Liebster, Wo weilst du so lang?
Nicht ruhen läßt mich des Herzens Drang.
Ach, kämst du, mein Liebster, doch heute!«

Der Abend nahte, die Sonne sank
Am Saum des Himmels darnieder.
»So trägt dich die Welle mir nimmer zurück?
Vergebens späht in die Ferne mein Blick.
Wo find' ich, mein Liebster, dich wieder,

Die Wasser umspielten ihr schmeichelnd den Fuß,
Wie Träume von seligen Stunden;
Es zog sie zur Tiefe mit stiller Gewalt:
Nie stand mehr am Ufer die holde Gestalt,
Sie hat den Geliebten gefunden!

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by B. Eduard Schulz (1813 - 1842), as Edouard Ferrand
1. True Love
Language: English 
A maiden sat by the seashore
And looked, full of longing, into the distance.
"Where are you, my lover? What is keeping you so long?
The turmoil of my heart gives me no rest.
Ah, if only you would come today, my love!"

The evening approached, the sun sank low
At the edge of the sky.
"So the waves will never then bring you back?
It is then in vain that I peer in the distance.
Where will I find you again, my beloved?«

The creeping water played about her feet, 
Like a dream of blissful hours;
She was drawn to the depths by some silent power:
No more did that lovely form stand on the shore;
She had found her beloved 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 Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 123

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Parole
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Parole", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 2 (1852), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Sie stand wohl am Fensterbogen
Und flocht sich traurig das Haar,
Der Jäger war fortgezogen,
Der Jäger ihr Liebster war.

Und als der Frühling gekommen,
Die Welt war von Blüthen verschneit,
Da hat sie ein Herz sich genommen
Und ging in die grüne Haid'.

Sie legt das Ohr an den Rasen,
Hört ferner Hufe Klang --
Das sind die Rehe, die grasen
Am schattigen Bergeshang.

Und Abends die Wälder rauschen,
Von fern nur fällt noch ein Schuß,
Da steht sie stille, zu lauschen:
»Das war meines Liebsten Gruß!«

Da sprangen vom Fels die Quellen,
Da flohen die Vöglein in's Thal.
»Und wo ihr ihn trefft, ihr Gesellen,
O, grüßt mir ihn tausendmal!«

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Note: first appeared (untitled) in the novel "Dichter und ihre Gesellen" (1834), later titled "Parole" in the first two editions of Eichendorff's collected poems (Berlin, 1837 and 1843); in a posthumous edition, the title was "Die Verlassene".

Modernized spelling would change "Blüthen" to "Blüten", "Haid'" to "Heid'", "Thal" to "Tal".

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
2. Password
Language: English 
She stood against the bay window
And sadly plaited her hair:
The hunter had gone off,
The hunter who was her lover.

And when the Spring came,
The world all snowy from blossoms,
She took heart
And went into the green heathlands.

She put her ear to the ground,
And heard the throbbing of far-off hoofs -
They are the roebucks, grazing
On the shady mountain slope.

And in the evening when the forests rustle,
From afar, a shot is still only just heard.
She stands quite still to listen:
"That was my lover's greeting!"

The streams sprang out from the rocks,
And the little birds flitted into the valley.
"And if you meet him, my fine fellows,
O greet him for me a thousand times!"

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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of title "Parole" = "Password"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 125

Translation © by Emily Ezust
3. Anklänge
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Anklänge", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 3 (1853), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Hoch über stillen Höhen
Stand in dem Wald ein Haus;
So einsam war's zu sehen,
Dort übern Wald hinaus.

Ein Mädchen saß darinnen
Bei stiller Abendzeit,
Tät seidne Fäden spinnen
Zu ihrem Hochzeitskleid.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
3.
Language: English 
High above the silent heights
A house stood in the forest;
So lonely was it to behold,
There, over the forest.

A maiden sat there inside
in the silent evening time,
Spinning silk threads
For her wedding-dress.

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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of title "Anklänge" = "Reminiscences"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 37

Translation © by Emily Ezust
4. Volkslied
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Volkslied", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 4 (1852), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die Schwälble ziehet fort, ziehet fort,
Weit an en andre Ort;
Und i sitz' do in Traurigkeit,
Es isch a böse, schwere Zeit.

Könnt' i no fort durch d' Welt, fort durch d' Welt,
Weil mir's hie gar net, gar net g'fällt!
O Schwälble, komm, i bitt', i bitt'!
Zeig mir de Weg und nimm mi mit!

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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
4. Folk song
Language: English 
The little swallow flies away,
Far to another place;
And I sit here in sadness -
It is a bad, difficult time.

If only I could go forth into the world,
for I don't like it here at all!
O little swallow, come, I beg you!
Show me the way and take me with!

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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of titles
"Die Schwalbe" = "The swallow"
"Volkslied" = "Folk song"



This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 53

Translation © by Emily Ezust
5. Die Trauernde
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Die Trauernde", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 5 (1852), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: Swabian (Schwäbisch) 
Mei Mueter mag mi net,
Und kein Schatz han i net,
Ei warum sterb' i net,
Was tu i do?

Gestern isch Kirchweih g'wä,
Mi hot mer g'wis net g'seh,
Denn mir isch's gar so weh,
I tanz ja net.

Laßt die drei Rose stehn,
Die an dem Kreuzle blühn:
Hent ihr das Mädle kennt,
Die drunter liegt?

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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
5. The sad maiden
Language: English 
My mother doesn't like me,
And no sweetheart do I have,
Oh why don't I die?
What am I doing here?

Yesterday there was a church fair,
But of course no one saw me,
For I am so unhappy
that I do not dance at all.

Let them be, those three roses
that bloom near the little cross:
Were you acquainted with the little maiden
who lies under it?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Swabian (Schwäbisch) 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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of title "Die Trauernde" = "The sad maiden"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 69

Translation © by Emily Ezust
6. Heimkehr
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Heimkehr", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 6 (1851), published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel
Language: German (Deutsch) 
O brich nicht, Steg, du zitterst sehr!
O stürz' nicht, Fels, du dräuest schwer!
Welt, geh' nicht unter, Himmel, fall' nicht ein,
Bis ich mag bei der Liebsten sein!

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by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 - 1862)
6. The journey home
Language: English 
O break not, footbridge, you shake so very much,
O fall not, rocks on the cliff, you seem so threateningly heavy,
World, do not end, and sky, do not fall,
Until I may be with my beloved!

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

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


Based on:

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Translation of title "Heimkehr" = "The journey home"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 37

Translation © by Emily Ezust