From childhood | It was a hilltop where in the grass

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by Julius Karl Reinhold Sturm (1816 - 1896)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Aus der Kindheit

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE ITA SPA

Ein Hügel war's, wo ich im Gras
zur Sommerzeit am liebsten sass
als frohes Kind allein;
weit um mich her die grüne Au
und über mir nur tiefes Blau
und goldner Sonnenschein.

Da schwärmten Falter mir vorbei,
und fleiss'ge Bienen summten frei
mir um das blonde Haar.
Goldkäfer stellten oft sich ein,
und Grillen musizierten fein
zum Tanz der Mückenschar.

Und wenn der Tag zu Rüste ging,
wie selig da mein Auge hing
an Wolken, goldumsäumt!
O, das war tiefe Poesie, -
so lebensvolle, wie ich nie -
mir je als Mann erträumt.

Text Authorship:

by Julius Karl Reinhold Sturm (1816 - 1896) [author's text not yet checked 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 Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Aus der Kindheit", 1879, published 2010 [ voice and piano ], rediscovered by Christian Wolf of the Richard-Strauss-Institut, Garmisch; Schott; one of three songs given to Sophie Dietz in April 1879 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "De la infància", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "From childhood", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "De l'enfance", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Dall'infanzia", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "De la infancia", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Amelia Maria Imbarrato

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-01
Line count: 18
Word count: 91

From childhood

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

It was a hilltop where in the grass
In summertime I most loved to sit
As a happy child, alone;
All around me there was the green meadow
And above me only deep blue
And golden sunshine.

Butterflies swarmed past me there,
And industrious bees hummed freely
About my blond hair.
Rose chafers often appeared,
And crickets provided fine music
For the dance of the cloud of mosquitoes.

And when the close of day drew near
How blissfully my eye then dwelt
Upon gold-rimmed clouds!
Oh, that was deep poetry [back then], -
So full of life; as a man
I have never been able to imagine the like.

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 Julius Karl Reinhold Sturm (1816 - 1896)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-04-30
Line count: 18
Word count: 108