The Föhn-wind screams every night

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Vorfrühling

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Der Föhn schreit jede Nacht,
Sein feuchter Flügel flattert schwer.
Brachvögel taumeln durch die Luft.
Nun schläft nichts mehr,
Nun ist das ganze Land erwacht,
Der Frühling ruft.

Bleib still, bleib still, mein Herz!
Ob auch im Blute eng und schwer
Die Leidenschaft sich rührt
Und dich die alten Wege führt --
Nicht jugendwärts 
Gehn deine Wege mehr.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. von Einem

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View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 140-141.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Vorfrühling", written 1908, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 58

The Föhn‑wind screams every night

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The Föhn-wind screams every night,
Its damp pinions flutter heavily.
Curlews reel through the air.
Now nothing sleeps any longer,
Now the whole land is wakened,
Spring calls.

Be still, be still, my heart!
Though in your veins, closely and heavily,
Passion stirs
And leads you upon the old paths --
Your ways no longer
Go toward youth.

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View text with all available footnotes

Translations of title(s):
"Der Föhn" = "The Föhn-wind"
"Vorfrühling" = "Before spring"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Vorfrühling", written 1908, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-12-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 57