Springtime lament | Little clouds scud in the heights

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by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Frühlingsklage

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Wölklein ziehen in den Höhn, 
Schnell gejagt von lauen Lüften;
Wiesen stehn so wunderschön,
Veilchen rings im Thale düften!
  Aber fern im Haine schon,
  Horch! welch banger Klageton!

  Weiß es wohl, o Nachtigall, 
Ach! was mir dein Lied will sagen! 
Kenn' ihn wohl, der Wehmuth Schall 
In den allerschönsten Tagen! 
  Mir auch zittert's durch Gemüth, 
  Wie so bald der Lenz verblüht!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• A. Holländer

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, page 44.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Frühlingsklage", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 48 [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 Agathon Billeter (1834 - 1881) [sung text not yet checked]
by Gustav Flügel (1812 - 1900) [sung text not yet checked]
by Alexis Holländer (1840 - 1924), "Frühlingsklage", op. 16 (Drei Duette für Sopran und Alt) no. 2, published 1870 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ], Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Müller [sung text checked 1 time]
by Philipp Tietz (1816 - 1878) [sung text not yet checked]
by Benedict Widmann (1820 - 1910) [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Springtime lament", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-01-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 63

Springtime lament

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Little clouds scud in the heights,
Quickly chased about by balmy breezes;
Meadows stand wondrously beautiful,
Violets disperse their scent all about the valley!
   But already, far away in the grove,
  Hark! what an anxious sound of lamenting!

  I know well, oh nightingale,
Ah! what your song wishes to tell me!
I know well the sound of melancholy
During the most beautiful of days!
  It trembles also through my spirit,
  How very quickly springtime fades!

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Frühlingsklage", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 48
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-01-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 77