English translations of Sechs Lieder, opus 9

   Farewell, beloved trees;
Grow in the heavenly air.
A thousand fond dreams
Twine themselves through your scent.
 
   But what do I stand and linger?
How is [my heart] so heavy, how am I so anxious?
Yes, I go! Yes, I hasten [away]!
But, ah, my heart remains here.

Children of spring in colorful profusion,
fluttering blossoms, fragrant breezes,
yearning, jubilant songs of love -
they burst upon my heart from every bush.
Children of spring swarm around my heart,
whispering cajoling words,
calling with intoxicated shouts,
rattling gates long locked.
Children of spring, besetting my heart,
what do you still seek so urgently within?
Did I betray it to you recently in a dream
as I slumbered beneath a blossoming tree?
Or did the morning wind bring tidings to you
that, locked in my heart,
your lovely playmate's 
image I bear secretly and blissfully?

   The sun sinks into the lap of the sea,
But the light - the sky does not release it.
It blossoms and glows and turns night into day,
The lament of the nightingale into a paean of joy.
 
   Thus you departed, but the light of your being
Does not depart from the sky of my soul.
Wherever I may wander and rest on earth,
Night and sadness can never arise within me.

   The trees, they drip
With rain at night.
The drops, they tap me
Softly on the shoulder.
 
   And through [the raindrops]
The sun shimmers,
[So that]1 everything sparkles
Like precious jewels.
 
   Oh lovely whispering,
Oh blissful atmosphere!
You eyes, you somber ones,
You, too, should dissolve in tears!
 
   You longing, only come forth
From my beating breast!
Pour [forth in tears]2,
You agonizing joy!
 
   O droplets, so glowing
And healing!  There beams
In every one [of you], like a flower,
The dear image [of my beloved].
 
   With a luxuriant desire
The heart surges mightily,
And leaps with love,
And rejoices with pain.

  [Teuthold, my dear one,]1 has departed from here,
Forests and mountains conceal him from me;
Formerly my gaze could still make him out in the distance:
When I waved to him, he would wave back to me.

  Were I able to see him now rejoicing in the May moon,
Half of his joy would be mine as well;
Were he to pick a little flower, he would pick it for me;
Were he to sing a song, he would sing it for me.

  Were I to see him wandering in the familiar forest,
I would soon hear the [sighing]2 of the yearning one:
Lovingly, [all-loving]3 I would embrace him then,
Press myself closely against the dear one.

  Had I, oh had I but [the power of fairies]4
To turn myself into every form,
I could play many a whimsical trick on him,
Oh how many joys I could savour!

  Were he to walk quietly pensive beside the cooling brook,
A little forget-me-not flower would float after him;
Were he to snatch the little flower and hold it close,
He would then have me in [his] loving hands.

  Were he to seek rest in the shade of the linden tree,
I would cover him with scented leaves;
Were he to walk in flowery meadows,
I would fly all around him as a butterfly.

  Were he to turn to his books in his room,
I would sit on his windowsill in the guise of a nightingale.
I would sing his own song to him:
Would he not listen and perk up his ears?

  Were only my loving, longing sighs
Carried after him by an obliging zephyr!
If my kiss [were only]5 light and winged,
It would bring him a friendly greeting every hour.

   Come, darling! the forests
Are inclining themselves toward you,
And everything awaits you
In silence here!

   The heavens, I beg you, 
How empty they are of clouds!
The moon in the middle,
The stars all around!

   The heavens [reflected]
In the unruffled [water-spring surrounded by twilight]1,
This place in the shade, 
This other [place] so bright!

   In the shadow, love’s
Delight that entices you;
Whispering to you 
That much [would still remain]2 to be discovered.

   There [would remain]3 
So many sweet secrets;
Such a tight embracing;
Such blissful play!

   There is soughing! there tremble
Upon every tree
The branches; there sway
The [birds]4 in their dreams.

   Come, darling! the forests
Are inclining themselves toward you,
And everything awaits you
In silence here!

[ ... ]

   This swaying, this trembling
Of the leaves [in]5 the pond -- --
Oh, Love, your premonitions, 
Oh, Love, your realm!