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"Was suchst du unter dir im Staube Nach Früchten, o du thöricht Kind, Die herb, zertreten und zum Raube Dem kriechenden Gewürme sind? Blick aufwärts nach dem frischen Laube, Da glühn sie voll und reif und lind!" -- Da kann ich nicht hinauf! -- "Du blöder Thor! Den Vater ruf, so hebt er dich empor!" --
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Geistliche Gedichte von Friedrich Baron de la Motte Fouqué, herausgegeben von Albertine Baronin de la Motte Fouqué, Berlin: bei W. Adolf und Comp., 1846, page 50
Authorship
- by Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouqué (1777 - 1843), no title [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 Adolf Bernhard Vogel (1847 - 1898), "Was suchst Du unter dir im Staube?", op. 35, Heft 2 no. 4, published 1884 [mixed chorus], from the collection Tröstungen. Vier ernste Gesänge für gemischten Chor nach Sprüchen von de la Motte-Fouqué, no. 4, Leipzig, Siegel [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-05-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 53
"Why do you seek beneath you in the dust For fruits, oh you foolish child, [Fruits] that, bitter and trampled, have become The booty of creeping worms? Gaze upward to the fresh foliage, There they glow, lush and ripe and beautiful!" -- But I cannot get up there! -- "You silly fool! Call your father, then he shall lift you up!" --
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouqué (1777 - 1843), no title
This text was added to the website: 2016-05-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 59