by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Über Hirsau
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Rast haltend unter Edeltannen
Besinn ich mich der alten Zeit,
Da in mein erstes Knabenleid
Dieselben Waldesdüfte rannen.

An diesem Ort -- -- ich lag im Moose
Und träumte scheu und knabenwild
Ein blondes, schlankes Mädchenbild,
In meinem Kranz die erste Rose.

Die Zeit ging hin; der Traum ward alt
Und wich von mir.  Ein andrer kam. --
Wie lang, daß der auch Abschied nahm!

Mich quält, wem jener erste galt.
Ja wem? Ich weiß nur noch: sie war
Holdselig, schlank und blond von Haar.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 52.


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Looking out over Hirsau", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Au-dessus de Hirsau", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 82

Looking out over Hirsau
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Stopping to rest under noble firs,
I ponder olden times,
When these same forest scents
Trickled into my first boyhood sorrow.

At this place -- -- I lay in the moss
And dreamed shyly and boyishly wildly [of]
A blonde, slim maidenly image,
The first rose in my wreath.

Time passed; the dream grew old
And departed from me.  Another came. --
How long it's been, since that one too took its farewell!

What tortures me is, of whom the first one was.
Yes, of whom?  All I still know: she was
Lovely, slender, and blonde.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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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This text was added to the website: 2019-05-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 93