Erinnerung, begrabene Hoffnung
Bewahrt dies braune Gebälk
Darüber Georginen hangen,
Immer stillere Heimkehr,
Der verfallne Garten [dunklen]1 Abglanz
[Kindlicher]2 Jahre,
Daß von blauen Lidern [Tränen]3 stürzen
[Unaufhaltsam;
Hinüberschimmern der Schwermut
Kristallne Minuten
Zur Nacht.]4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
Third version.
¹ Trakl's first version: "den dunklen"
² first version: "Vergangener"; second version: "Vergangner"
³ first version: "die Tränen"
⁴ first version: "Dem Fremdling unaufhaltsam." ; second version:

Unaufhaltsam.
O Geliebtes!
Schon tropft vom rostigen Ahorn
Laub, hinüberschimmern der Schwermut
Kristallne Minuten
Zur Nacht.

Text Authorship:

• by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Herbstliche Heimkehr" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Herbstliche Heimkehr (1. Fassung)", 1996, first performed 1996 [ tenor and piano ], from Trakl-Lieder II : Schweigen und Kindheit, no. 4, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by Steffen Schleiermacher (b. 1960), "Herbstliche Heimkehr", 1984/5 [ chorus a cappella ], from Vier Chöre nach Gedichten von Georg Trakl, no. 2, Deutscher Verlag für Musik [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Retour automnal", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-10-29
Line count: 11
Word count: 34

Remembrance, buried hope
is preserved by these brown beams
over which Dahlias trail.
Ever calmer homecoming,
the abandoned garden, dark reflection  
of childhood years,
that tears fall from blue lids
[unstoppably;
melancholy’s crystal minutes
blink over
to the night.]1

Unstoppably.
O beloved!
Already leaves are dropping from the rusty maple,
melancholy’s crystal minutes
blink over
to the night.