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Du braunes Holz, behutsam leg' Ich meine Hand an deine Wände, Und prüfe Wirbel, Brett und Steg, Ob ich kein neu Geheimnis fände. Oft, wenn du glänzend von der Wand Mich anblickst, scheint in dir zu rasten Ein Ton, den noch mein Spiel nicht fand, Den Menschenhände niemals faßten. Oft auch beginnst du heimlich zart In meinem Griffe zu erwarmen, Als läg ein Freund seltsamer Art, Ein Lieblingsfreund mir in den Armen. Komm her! Sei noch einmal dem Drang Der Schwermut so wie einst zu Willen, Da du mir tröstend nächtelang Die heiße Jugend halfest stillen! Da war mein ängstlich fernes Ziel: So, wie ich's heut' vermag, zu geigen . . . O wäre mir und meinem Spiel Noch jene keusche Jugend eigen!
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., 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, pages 48-49.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Meiner Geige", written 1899, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in An die Schönheit, in Der Geiger, no. 3, first published 1919 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Czelinski (1901 - 1969), "Meiner Geige", op. 3 no. 3 (1948) [ voice, piano, and violin ], from Der Geiger - Fünf Lieder nach Texten von Hermann Hesse, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Wolfgang Sachsse (1891 - 1960), "Ricercar -- Meiner Geige ", op. 17 no. 3 [ baritone, violin, and piano ], from Partita für Violine, Bariton und Klavier auf die Worte des Zyklus "Der Geiger" von Hermann Hesse, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "To my violin", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 123
You brown wood, carefully I lay my hand upon your body And examine pegs, fingerboard and bridge, [To see] whether I can find a new secret. Often when, shining, you gaze at me From the wall, it seems that within you rests A sound that my playing has not yet found, That has never been grasped by human hands. Often, too, you seem secretly, gently To warm within my grasp, As if a friend of unusual kind, A favourite friend lay in my arms. Come here! Let the compulsion of melancholy Have its way with you as formerly, When comfortingly, nights on end You helped me calm youth's hot fervour. Then my anxious, faraway goal was: To play the violin as I am able to do today. . . Oh would that I and my playing Still possessed that morally pure youthfulness!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Meiner Geige", written 1899, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in An die Schönheit, in Der Geiger, no. 3, first published 1919
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-17
Line count: 20
Word count: 142