The weather-vane | The wind plays with the weathervane

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by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827)

Translation © by Arthur Rishi

Die Wetterfahne

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: AFR CAT CHI DUT ENG ENG FIN FRE FRI HEB ITA KOR LIT SPA

Der Wind spielt mit der Wetterfahne
Auf meines schönen Liebchens Haus.
Da dacht' ich schon in meinem Wahne,
Sie pfiff' den armen Flüchtling aus.

Er hätt' es [ehr]¹ bemerken sollen,
Des Hauses aufgestecktes Schild,
So hätt' er nimmer suchen wollen
Im Haus' ein treues Frauenbild.

Der Wind spielt drinnen mit den Herzen,
Wie auf dem Dach, nur nicht so laut.
Was fragen sie nach meinen Schmerzen?
Ihr Kind ist eine reiche Braut.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Zweites Bändchen. Deßau 1824. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, page 79; and with Urania. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1823. Neue Folge, fünfter Jahrgang. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. 1823, page 211.

First published in Urania (see above) as no. 2 of Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern.

¹ Schubert: "eher"

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Die Wetterfahne", written 1821-22, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 2, first published 1823 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Reiner Bredemeyer (1929 - 1995), "Die Wetterfahne", 1984, first performed 1985 [ baritone, horn, and piano ], from Die Winterreise, no. 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag [sung text checked 1 time]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Wetterfahne", op. 89 no. 2, D 911 no. 2 (1827), published 1828 [ voice and piano ], from Winterreise, no. 2, Haslinger [sung text checked 1 time]
by Johannes (Hans) Wolfgang Zender (b. 1936), "Die Wetterfahne", 1993 [ tenor and small orchestra ], from Schuberts Winterreise, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

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

Research team for this page: Ofer Sheinberg , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 72

The weather‑vane

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The wind plays with the weathervane
Atop my beautiful beloved's house.
In my delusion I thought
It was whistling at the poor fugitive.

If he had seen it before,
The crest above the house,
Then he never would have looked for
A woman's fidelity in that house.

The wind plays with hearts within
As on the roof, but not so loudly.
What is my suffering to them?
Their child is a rich bride.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Arthur Rishi, (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 Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Die Wetterfahne", written 1821-22, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 2, first published 1823
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 73

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Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.