English translations of 6 Gedichte von E. Geibel, opus 8

The beautiful Spain is in the remote South,
Spain is my home country,
Where the chestnuts give you shade
At the banks of the river Ebro,
Where the almond blossoms are red,
Where there are sweet grapes
And where the roses are more beautiful
And where the moonlight is brighter.

Sadly, I have been wandering with the lute 
For a long time from house to house,
But not a single bright and friendly eye
Greeted me from these houses.
Tightly, they give me presents,
Moaning people ask me to leave;
Ach nobody understands 
The poor dark-skinned boy.

This bad mood suppresses me,
The sun has disappeared,
I have forgotten all
These happy songs.
Ach, the same longing sound
Has entered all my melodies:
I want to go home,
To the land full of sunshine. 

When, recently at the Thanksgiving,
Songs were performed in a big circle,
I played the best song
Of my Lieder.
But, even though the couples were dancing
In the golden evening sun,
Hot tears ran down
My dark cheeks.

Ach, during the dance
I thought of my home country,
Where every chest breathes freely
In the filmy moon shine.
Where every foot moves freely
Accompanied by the zither,
And where the young man dances
The Fandango with the beautiful woman.

No! I cannot stand the
Longing beats of heart any longer;
I want to efface any desire,
Please let me be happy in my home!
Let me go down South to Spain!
To the country full of sunshine!
I must be buried 
Under the shady chestnut trees!

The night is mild
At the green river Rhine!
The vineyards lie 
In the golden moon shine.

And a tall shadow wanders
Along the hills
With a sword and red coat,
And a golden heavy crown.

That is Carl, the Emperor,
Who used to rule the
German lands with his powerful hands
Hundreds of years ago. 

He left his grave 
In Aachen,
He blesses his vine
And he breathes the smell of grapes.

At Rüdesheim, the moon shines 
Into the water.
It build a golden bridge
Across the green river Rhine.

The Emperor crosses the river,
He walks slowly,
He blesses the vine
along the river in each place.

Then he returns to Aachen
And sleeps in his grave,
Until the smell of the grapes
Wakes him up in the next year.

But we fill the glasses
And we drink the golden juice.
Here’s to the German heroes,
Here’s to German vitality.

Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!
Love awakens, the teasing begins
in the golden magical light. 
The zither entices so gently, so softly
that you cannot resist it.
Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!

That is the hour for lovers,
[lovers] like you and me, dear. 
The heavenly vault turns blue so peacefully,
The sea is sleeping serenely.
The maidens sing of the joy of love,
The echo reverberates from afar,
Then bosom presses onto bosom,
Lips close against other lips gladly.
Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!

Ave Maria! Sea and heaven are resting,
From every tower echoes the sound of bells,
Ave Maria! Leave off your earthly endeavours,
Pray to the Virgin, to the Virgin's son,
The hosts of Heaven themselves are now kneeling
With staves of lilies before the Father's throne,
And through the rosy clouds the songs
Of the blessed spirits waft solemnly down [toward earth].

Oh holy devotion, which marvelously penetrates
Every heart with a quiet shiver!
Oh holy faith that soars toward heaven
On the white wings of prayer!
There pain dissolves into mild tears,
While the rejoicing of happiness rings out more gently.
Ave Maria! When the bell sounds,
Earth and heaven smile, reconciled.

The carnations in my garden
with their crimson center-star
they all must wilt away now,
because you are afar.

The flames in my hearth
I so loved to watch,
they crumbled to ashes,
because you are afar.

The world went sour,
with neither flower greeting me nor star -
my heart died away long ago,
because you are afar.

A ship is approaching,
The sails shine brightly in the sun set,
The wind blows hard,
The waves dabble,
The horns sound.
Trarah, trarah, trarah, trarah!

The boy stands
At the railing with the loving cup in his hands,
Sea gulls, fly to the beach,
O greet the loved ones at home
A thousand times.
Trarah, trarah, trarah, trarah!