Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Dunkel, Dunkel im Moor, Über der Haide Nacht, Nur das rieselnde Rohr Neben der Mühle wacht, Und an des Rades Speichen Schwellende Tropfen schleichen. Unke kauert im Sumpf, Igel im Grase duckt, In dem modernden Stumpf Schlafend die Kröte zuckt, Und am sandigen Hange Rollt sich fester die Schlange. Was glimmt dort hinterm Ginster, Und bildet lichte Scheiben? Nun wirft es Funkenflinster, Die löschend niederstäuben; Nun wieder alles dunkel - Ich hör' des Stahles Picken, Ein Knistern, ein Gefunkel - Und auf die Flammen zücken. Und Hirtenbuben hocken Im Kreis' umher, sie strecken Die Hände, Torfes Brocken Seh ich die Lohe lecken; Da bricht ein starker Knabe Aus des Gestrippes Windel, Und schleifet nach im Trabe Ein wüst Wacholderbündel. Er läßt's am Feuer kippen - Hei, wie die Buben johlen, Und mit den Fingern schnippen Die Funken-Girandolen! Wie ihre Zipfelmützen Am Ohre lustig flattern, Und wie die Nadeln spritzen, Und wie die Äste knattern! Die Flamme sinkt, sie hocken Auf's Neu' umher im Kreise, Und wieder fliegen Brocken, Und wieder schwehlt es leise; Glührothe Lichter streichen An Haarbusch und Gesichte, Und schier Dämonen gleichen Die kleinen Haidewichte. Der da, der Unbeschuh'te, Was streckt er in das Dunkel Den Arm wie eine Ruthe, Im Kreise welch' Gemunkel? Sie spähn wie junge Geier Von ihrer Ginsterschütte: Hah, noch ein Hirtenfeuer, Recht an des Dammes Mitte! Man sieht es eben steigen Und seine Schimmer breiten, Den wirren Funkenreigen Über'n Wacholder gleiten; Die Buben flüstern leise, Sie räuspern ihre Kehlen, Und alte Haideweise Verzittert durch die Schmehlen. "Helo, heloe! Heloe, loe! Komm du auf uns're Haide, Wo ich meine Schäflein weide, Komm, o komm in unser Bruch, Da gibt's der Blümelein genug, - Helo, heloe!" Die Knaben schweigen, lauschen nach dem Tann, Und leise durch den Ginster zieht's heran: Gegenstrophe "Helo, heloe! Ich sitze auf dem Walle, Meine Schäflein schlafen alle, Komm, o komm in unsern Kamp, Da wächst das Gras wie Brahm so lang! - Helo, heloe! Heloe, loe!"
Confirmed with: Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Historisch-kritische Ausgabe. Werke. Briefwechsel, herausgegeben von Winfried Woesler, Band I,1 Gedichte zu Lebzeiten, bearbeitet von Winfried Theiss, Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1985, pages 59-61. Note: in this source, the words "Über" and "Äste" are spelled "Ueber" and "Aeste", presumably for font-setting reasons (umlauts don't fit over capital letters). We've used the umlauted form for consistency.
Authorship:
- by Annette Elisabeth, Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff (1797 - 1848), "Das Hirtenfeuer", first published 1844 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Robert Schumann.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Jane K. Brown) , "The shepherds' fire", copyright © 2015, (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: 2010-02-28
Line count: 77
Word count: 326
Dark, dark on the moor, Night upon the heath, Only the trickling pipe Is awake next to the mill, And on the spikes of the wheel Swelling drops creep. Paddock crouches in the swamp, Hedgehog cowers in the grass, In the rotting stump The toad twitches in sleep, And on the sandy slope The snake curls up more tightly. What gleams there beyond the broom And forms disks of light? Now it sends a spray of sparks That go out as they drift down; Now everthing's dark again -- I hear the steel clicking, A crackling, a twinkling -- And the flames flash up. And shepherd boys squat In a circle all round, they stretch Their hands, bits of peat I see licked by the blaze; A strong lad bursts From the tangle of the brush And briskly drags along A jumbled mass of juniper. He lets it fall into the fire -- Hey, how the boys whoop And the sparks snap their fingers Flying about like rockets! How their stocking caps Gaily flutter at their ears, And how the needles splatter, And how the branches crackle! The flame sinks down, they squat Once more in the circle round about, And chunks again go flying, And again it smoulders quietly; Glowing red lights glide On locks of hair and face, And the little imps of the heath Resemble real demons. That one, the one without shoes, Why does he stretch like a rod His arm into the darkness, What's that murmuring in the circle? They peer out like young vultures From their heaps of broom: Hah, another shepherd's fire, Right at the middle of the dike! They see it as it rises And spreads its shimmer, The mazy dance of sparks Floats above the juniper; The boys whisper quietly, They clear their throats, And the old melody of the heath Trembles through the reeds. "Helo, helo-ay! Helo-ay, lo-ay! Come to our heath, Where I graze my lambs, Come, o come to our marshy hollow, We've plenty of flowers here, -- Helo, helo-ay!" The boys fall silent, listen toward the pine forest, And quietly it drifts in through the broom: Antistrophe "Helo, helo-ay! I sit upon the bank, My lambs are all asleep, Come, o come to our field, There the grass grows as high as the broom. Helo, helo-ay! Helo-ay, lo-ay!"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Jane K. Brown, (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 Annette Elisabeth, Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff (1797 - 1848), "Das Hirtenfeuer", first published 1844
This text was added to the website: 2015-07-28
Line count: 77
Word count: 387