I sat in the greenery

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by Ludwig Rellstab (1799 - 1860)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ich saß im Grünen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Ich saß im Grünen,
Am klaren Bach
Und blickte träumend
Den Wellen nach.
Und Blumen schauten
So tief hinein:
Wie muß es selig
Dort unten sein!

  Und Strahlen glänzten
Durch Wipfelgrün,
Ich sah am Himmel
Die Wölkchen ziehn.
Sie zogen freundlich
Im Sonnenschein:
Wie muß es selig
Dort oben sein!

  Da stand er vor mir
So morgenschön!
Kaum wagt' ich bebend
Ihn anzusehn.
Sein Auge strahlte
So tief und rein: --
Wie könnt' ich selig
Auf Erden sein!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• P. von Decker

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Confirmed with Ludwig Rellstab, Gesammelte Schriften, Neue Ausgabe, Zwölfter Band, Gedichte, Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus, 1860, pages 78-79.

Text Authorship:

by Ludwig Rellstab (1799 - 1860), "Bewußtsein" [author's text checked 1 time 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: 2010-03-01
Line count: 24
Word count: 82

I sat in the greenery

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  I sat in the greenery
By the clear brook
And my gaze dreamily
Followed the waves.
And flowers gazed
So deep into the water:
How blissful it must be
Down there!

  And sunbeams sparkled
Through the green of the treetops,
Upon the heavens I saw
The clouds scudding.
They moved amiably
In the sunshine:
How blissful it must be
Up there!

  Then he stood before me,
As beautiful as the morning!
Trembling, I hardly dared 
To look at him.
His eyes shone
So deeply and purely: --
How blissfully happy I could be
Upon earth!

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Translations of title(s):
"Am Bache" = "At the brook"
"Bewußtsein" = "Awareness"
"Das Mädchen am Bache" = "The maiden at the brook"
"Ich sass im Grünen" = "I sat in the greenery"
"Lied" = "Song"
"Selig" = "Blissful"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Ludwig Rellstab (1799 - 1860), "Bewußtsein"
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This text was added to the website: 2024-02-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 100