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Wer hat dich, du schöner Wald,
Aufgebaut so hoch da droben?
Wohl den Meister will ich loben,
Solang noch mein' Stimme erschallt:
Lebe wohl,
Lebe wohl, du schöner Wald!
Tief die Welt verworren schallt,
Oben einsam Rehe grasen.
Und wir ziehen fort und blasen,
Daß es tausendfach verhallt:
Lebe wohl,
Lebe wohl, du schöner Wald!
...
Was wir still gelobt im Wald,
Wollen's draußen ehrlich halten,
Ewig bleiben treu die Alten:
Bis das letzte Lied verhallt:
Lebe wohl,
Schirm' dich Gott, du deutscher Wald!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4 of the original text.
Note for stanza 4, lines 4-6: another edition of Eichendorff has the following:
Deutsch Panier, das rauschend wallt: Lebe wohl, schirm dich Gott, du schöner Wald!"
Composition:
- Set to music by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Der Jäger Abschied", op. 50 (Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 2 (1838), published 1840, stanzas 1-2,4 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Kistner
Score: IMSLP [external link]
Text Authorship:
- by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Der Jäger Abschied", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Zeitlieder
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (David Guess) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 109
Who has made you, you beautiful forest,
Built so high up there?
I want to praise the Master
As long as I still have voice.
Farewell,
Farewell, you beautiful forest!
Deeply bewildering the world sends out sounds,
Lonely deer grazing above,
And we go forth and blow the horn
So that it resounds a thousand-fold:
Farewell,
Farewell, you beautiful forest!
...
That which we quietly praised in the forest
We want to preserve out in the world with honor,
Our forebearers remain eternally faithful:
German banner which floats rustling in the air
Farewell!
May God protect you, you beautiful forest!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4 of the original text.
Note: This is a translation of Mendelssohn's version.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by David Guess, (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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Der Jäger Abschied", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Zeitlieder
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This text was added to the website: 2011-04-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 99