Früh mit der Lerche Sang
Wandert' ich weit,
Schlürfte was Wies' entlang
Labung verleiht.
Heiter und goldenrein --
Rief ich -- wie Lenzes Schein,
Möge dein Morgen sein,
Liebliche Maid!
 
  [Mich haben Vöglein dort
Singend erfreut,
Blumen am stillen Ort
Duft mir gestreut.]1
Wie aus bethautem Grün
Knospen der Rose glühn,
Soll deine Jugend blühn,
Liebliche Maid!
 
  [Girrende Taube fliegt
Frei durch die Heid';
Falk in der Schlinge liegt,
Schafft nicht mehr Leid.]2
Treffe sein Mißgeschick
Ihn, der mit Wort und Blick
Trübte dein stilles Glück,
Liebliche Maid!

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Robert Burns’ Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1840, pages 266-267

¹ Hanslick: "Vögelein schmetterten/ Froh durch die Luft,/ Reizender Blumenflor/ Streute mir Duft."
² Hanslick: "Falk in der Schlinge liegt,/ Schafft nicht mehr Leid;/ Girrende Taube fliegt/ Frei durch die Heid'."

Text Authorship:

• by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Liebliche Maid", page 266, poem No. 162, first published 1840 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song - Phillis The Fair"
  • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Heinrich Esser (1818 - 1872), "Liebliche Maid", op. 61 no. 3, published 1860 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von R. Burns, no. 3, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Liebliche Maid", op. 4 (Zwölf Gesänge) no. 3, published 1845 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Eduard Hanslick (1825 - 1904), "Liebliche Maid", published 1882 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus der Jugendzeit, no. 11, Berlin: N. Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Früh mit der Lerche Sang", op. 28 (12 Lieder) no. 10, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl August Krebs (1804 - 1880), "Liebliche Maid", op. 72, published 1840 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hubert Ferdinand Kufferath (1818 - 1896), "Früh mit der Lerche Sang ", op. 3 (6 Lieder von R. Burns für Tenor oder Sopran) no. 4, published 1841 [ tenor or soprano and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]

Set in a modified version by Joseph Rheinberger.

• Go to the text. [ view differences ] CZE FRE
  

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 89

  Early with the singing of the lark
I wandered far,
I imbibed that which along the meadow
Offers refreshment.
Merry and goldenly pure --
I called -- as the radiance of spring
May your morning be,
Lovely maiden!
 
  Little birds there have
Made me happy with their singing,
Flowers in quiet places
Have scattered scent for me.
As out of dewy green
The buds of the rose glow,
Thus may your youth bloom,
Lovely maiden!
 
  Cooing dove flies
Freely through the heath;
The falcon is caught in the snare
And causes no more grief.
May his misfortune strike
Him, who with word or glance,
Would becloud your quiet happiness,
Lovely maiden!