The Trout | Across a clear brook gentle

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by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739 - 1791)

Translation © by Walter Meyer

Die Forelle

(Sung text for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT CHI DUT ENG ENG ENG ENG FIN FRE GRE ITA JPN SPA SPA

In einem Bächlein helle,
Da schoß in froher Eil
Die launische Forelle
Vorüber, wie ein Pfeil:
Ich stand an dem Gestade,
Und sah' in süsser Ruh
Des muntern Fischleins Bade
Im klaren Bächlein zu.

Ein Fischer mit der Ruthe
Wol an dem Ufer stand,
Und sah's mit kaltem Blute
Wie sich das Fischlein wand.
So lang dem Wasser Helle,
So dacht' ich, nicht gebricht,
So fängt er die Forelle
Mit seiner Angel nicht.

Doch endlich ward dem Diebe
Die Zeit zu lang; er macht
Das Bächlein tückisch trübe:
Und eh' ich es gedacht,
So zuckte seine Ruthe;
Das Fischlein zappelt dran;
Und ich, mit regem Blute,
Sah die Betrogne an.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Note: Schubert produced over the years four copies of Die Forelle, resulting in five slightly different versions. The third version, dedicated to Josef Hüttenbrenner and presumably written down from memory, has the final two lines (of stanza 3) differently:

Ich sah mit regem Blute
Das arme Fischlein an.

Note: Schubart, who also set the poem himself, had an additional stanza between stanza 3 and 4 that he supressed in the printed edition:

So scheust auch manche Schöne
Im vollen Strom der Zeit
Und sieht nicht die Sirene
Die ihr im Wirbel dräut.
Sie folgt dem Drang der Liebe
Und eh' sie sichs versieht
So wird das Bächlein trübe
Und ihre Unschuld flieht.

Composition:

Franz Peter Schubert

Text Authorship:

by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739 - 1791), "Die Forelle", written 1782-83

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La truita", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CHI Chinese (中文) (Yan-Jiang Che) , "鱒魚", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De forel", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The trout", copyright ©
ENG English (Walter Meyer) , "The Trout", copyright © 1995, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English [singable] (Shula Keller) , "The trout", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English [singable] (Daniel Platt) , "The trout", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Forelli", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La truite", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Η πέστροφα", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) (Antonio Zencovich) , "La trota", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "ます", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Lourdes Leon) , "La Trucha", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Xavier Rivera) , "La Trucha", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 152

The Trout

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Across a clear brook gentle,
There shot in eager haste
The trout, so tempramental;
Quite arrow-like it raced.
I on the shore was gazing
And watched the brook disclose
The merry fish's bathing
To me in sweet repose.

An angler's reel unrolled
From where he stood below.
He watched with blood most cold
The fish swim to and fro.
So long no stone or sod
Stirred up the water pure
The trout from line and rod
Would stay, I thought, secure.

At length the thief lost patience
And made the brook obscure
With crafty agitations,
And ere I could be sure
The rod had started curving;
The squirming fish was hooked.
With pounding blood observing,
At the betrayed, I looked.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 1995 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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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739 - 1791), "Die Forelle", written 1782-83
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This text was added to the website: 2004-10-21
Line count: 32
Word count: 163