by
Gustav Pfarrius (1800 - 1884)
Am Quell
Language: German (Deutsch)
Am Quell von Blumen umduftet,
Im grünen Waldesthal,
Da liegt gefällt ein Eichstamm,
Drauf sitz' ich hundertmal;
Und schaue dahin und frage,
Warum so fern sie weilt,
Aus wirrem Getös und Gedränge
Ins liebliche Thal nicht eilt.
Kannst du nicht her sie winken,
Du Hügel so heiter zu schau'n?
Du Fels nicht her sie bannen
Mit deinen gigantischen Brau'n?
Kannst du nicht her sie schmeicheln,
Du zartes schwellendes Moos?
Du Bächlein nicht her sie plaudern
Mit deinem Wellengekos?
Könnt ihr nicht her sie lächeln,
Ihr Blumen am klaren Teich?
Und du herbei sie nicht singen
Lieb Vöglein im grünen Zweig? --
Der Quell, in den ich schaue,
Nicht stockt er in seinem Lauf;
In meiner Brust das Sehnen
Nicht hört es zu quellen auf,
Der Stamm, darauf ich sitze,
Nicht wird er wieder grün;
Im Herzen meine Liebe,
Wann wird sie ins Leben blühn? --
Confirmed with Gustav Pfarrius, Die Waldlieder, Köln: Verlag der M. DuMont-Schonberg'schen Buchhandlung, 1850, pages 29-30
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by H. Vagedes , "Am Quell", published 1869 [ low voice and piano? ], from Waldlieder für tiefere Stimme , no. 2, Köln, Schloss [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Robert Volkmann (1815 - 1883), "Am Quell", op. 13 (3 Gedichte für Sopran oder Tenor) no. 1, published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "At the water-spring", copyright © 2017, (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: 2011-07-17
Line count: 28
Word count: 143
At the water‑spring
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
At the water-spring, surrounded by the scent of flowers,
In the green forest valley,
There lies a felled oak trunk,
I sit upon it a hundred times;
And look thither and ask
Why she tarries so far away,
Why, from the noise and bustle,
She does not hurry to the lovely valley.
Can you not beckon her hither,
You hill so lovely to see?
You rock, can you not charm her hither
With your gigantic brows?
Can you not flatter her hither,
You delicate swelling moss?
You little brook, can you not babble her hither
With the caressing of your waves?
Can you not smile her hither,
You flowers by the clear pond?
And can you not sing her hither,
Dear birdlet in the branches?--
The water-spring into which I gaze
Does not falter in its flowing;
The yearning in my breast
Does not cease welling forth,
The tree-trunk upon which I sit
Shall never become green again;
The love within my heart,
When shall it blossom into life? --
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2017-05-04
Line count: 28
Word count: 169
