Far from the great city,
Admit me into your stillness,
Valley, which with the fullness of spring
Nature has adorned!
Where no noises, no bustle
Shortens my slumber,
And an eternally blue sky
Smiles over blissful meadows!
 
Joys, which are proffered by peace,
I wish to savour undisturbed here,
Here, where trees cover me,
And the linden tree scatters scent.
This well-spring shall be my mirror,
My parquet the young clover,
And the hill, freshly covered in green lawn,
Shall be my green sofa.
 
Your motherly trace,
The law, which without retribution
No mortal has yet broken,
I wish to follow, oh nature!
From the dark womb of the earth
I shall raise joys for myself,
And from out of tree and flower shall
Felicities blossom for me.
 
My contented heart rejoices
In the seedlings I nursed myself,
In the hope-filled trees,
With motherly tenderness.
When the flowers wed each other
In the mild light of the sun,
I shall count every blossom
That promises me sweet fruit.
 
My republic of bees
Is buzzing there in the shade of the linden trees,
From the flower-filled meadows is bringing
Back to me honey's gold.
Upon the hills dry grass
Stretched out half in shadow,
I see my lambs grazing,
[Lambs that are] covered in the finest fleece.
 
When through diligence and the effects of the burning sun
Soon my weaker forces vanish,
I rest in the depths of the valley
At the rim of the water-spring in the rocks.
The turtledove in the grove sings
Of its love and its sorrow,
And I am rocked into soft slumber
By the water-spring's murmuring.
 
When gentle autumn lifts its head,
Adorned with a wreath of fruits,
From the meadows and sees
All around the gardens, half-denuded of foliage;
Oh how my palate is then refreshed by
Grapes, which my vine bears,
Or by blue bloomy plums
From the tree that I tended.
 
Finally, when the northwind storms
Through the leafless forests
And upon the frozen fields
Piles up entire mountain ranges of snow:
Then beside my fireplace the winter nights
Are shortened by friendship,
Until, adorned with fresh green,
The young springtime awakens anew.