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Auf den Bergen möcht' ich leben,
Auf den Alpen hehr und still;
Mit den Wolken möcht ich schweben
Nach dem fernen, theuren Ziel.
Aber thränend nur und sehnend
Blickt mein Auge stets dahin,
Wo der Firnen Silberstirnen
Weit in das Land hinein erglüh'n.
Nach den Bergen zieht's mich wieder
Mit unendlicher Gewalt,
Hör ich Stimmen, hör ich Lieder,
Die das Echo wiederhallt.
Aber thränend nur und sehnend
Blickt mein Auge stets dahin,
Wo der Firnen Silberstirnen
Weit in das Land hinein erglüh'n.
...
In den Tiefen, ach, vergebens,
Such' ich meines Glückes Spur,
Denn der Friede meines Lebens
Thront auf Himmelshöhen nur!
Aber thränend nur und sehnend
Blickt mein Auge stets dahin,
Wo der Firnen Silberstirnen
Weit in das Land hinein erglüh'n.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,2,4 of the original text.
Also confirmed with Gedichte von Leonhard Widmer, Herausgegeben von einigen Freunden, Zürich: Druck von Zürcher und Furrer, 1869, pages 3-4.
Composition:
- Set to music by Johann Jakob Nater (1826 - 1906), "Sehnsucht nach den Bergen", published 1872, stanzas 1,2,4 [ ttbb chorus ], from Zwölf Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor, no. 11, Zürich und St. Gallen: Eigenthum und Verlag von P.J. Fries
Text Authorship:
- by Leonhard Widmer (1808 - 1868), "Sehnsucht nach den Bergen", appears in Gedichte, in Naturgefühl
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2021-06-02
Line count: 32
Word count: 165
I would like to live upon the mountains,
Upon the alps, sublime and silent;
I would like to drift with the clouds
Toward the distant, treasured goal.
But only in tears and with yearning
My eyes ever gaze thither,
Where the silver brows of the old snows
Glow far out into the land.
I am again drawn toward the mountains
With unceasing power,
When I hear voices, when I hear songs
That the echo sounds back to me.
But only in tears and with yearning
My eyes ever gaze thither,
Where the silver brows of the old snows
Glow far out into the land.
...
In the lowlands, ah, in vain
I seek the trace of my happiness,
For the peace of my life
Only thrones upon the heavenly heights!
But only in tears and with yearning
My eyes ever gaze thither,
Where the silver brows of the old snows
Glow far out into the land.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,2,4 of the original text.
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.
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Leonhard Widmer (1808 - 1868), "Sehnsucht nach den Bergen", appears in Gedichte, in Naturgefühl
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This text was added to the website: 2025-02-24
Line count: 32
Word count: 211