English translation of Der Hirt auf dem Felsen

by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen", D 965 (1828), published 1830 [ voice, piano, clarinet ], note: the title in Catalan : "El pastor damunt la roca"; Dutch: "De herder op de rots" ; English: "The shepherd on the rock"; French: "Le pâtre sur le rocher", Norwegian: "Gjeteren på klippen", Spanish: "El pastor en la roca"

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Wenn auf dem höchsten Fels ich steh',
In's tiefe Thal hernieder seh'
Und singe,

Fern aus dem tiefen dunkeln Thal
Schwingt sich empor der Wiederhall
Der Klüfte.

Je weiter meine Stimme dringt,
Je heller sie mir wiederklingt
Von unten.

Mein Liebchen wohnt so weit von mir,
Drum sehn' ich mich so heiß nach ihr
Hinüber!

 ...

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Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Zweites Bändchen. Deßau 1824. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 111-112; and with Urania. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1822. Neue Folge, vierter Jahrgang. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. 1822, pages 419-420.

First published in Urania (see above) as the second poem of Ländliche Lieder, with each two consecutive stanzas combined into one with six lines.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler 
 ... 

»In tiefem Gram verzehr' ich mich,
Mir ist die Freude hin!
Auf Erden mir die Hoffnung wich,
Ich hier so einsam bin!

So sehnend klang im Wald das Lied,
So sehnend klang es durch die Nacht;
Die Herzen es zum Himmel zieht
Mit wunderbarer Macht.

 ...

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Confirmed with Vermischte Gedichte von K. A. Varnhagen von Ense. Frankfurt am Main bei Franz Varrentrapp, 1816, pages 15-16.

First published in Musenalmanach auf das Jahr 1804. Herausgegeben von L. A. v. Chamisso und K. A. Varnhagen. Leipzig, bei Carl Gottlob Schmidt. 1804, pages 60-61. Here the poem has the title Romanze and an additional stanza between stanza 1 and 2: 

Es klang so zart und süß ins Herz,
Ein Herz im Liede lebt:
Und ew'ger, ew'ger Liebesschmerz
In ihm zum Himmel strebt.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] 
Der Frühling will kommen,
Der Frühling, meine Freud',
Nun mach' ich mich fertig
Zum Wandern bereit.

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Note: at the end Schubert repeats two lines from "Der Berghirt": "Je weiter meine Stimme dringt, / Je heller sie mir widerklingt."

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (1785 - 1858), [More than can fit here]
When I stand on the highest cliff
I look down into the deep valley
And sing,

Far away out of the deep dark valley
There soars up an echo 
From the ravines,

The further my voice reaches
The brighter it resounds to me
From below.

My beloved lives so far from me,
So I feel such hot longing for her
Over there!

 ...

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Malcolm Wren, (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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 ... 

"I am eating myself up in deepest sorrow,
Joy has abandoned me!
There is no hope left for me on earth,
I am so lonely here!

The song rang out in the forest with such longing,
Such longing through the night;
It draws hearts towards heaven
With an amazing power.

 ...

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Malcolm Wren, (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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The Springtime is coming,
The Springtime, my cheer,
Now must I make ready
On wanderings to fare.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 by Walter Meyer, (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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Translation © by Walter Meyer, Malcolm Wren