×
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.
by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs
O Wald, o Wald
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
Ist es dein Grün?
Ist es dein heimlich Dunkel?
Dein buntes Blühn?
Das irre Sonngefunkel?
Daß ich auf's neu stets freudetrunken
In deinen Zauber steh' versunken.
Wer mag es sagen?
[Wer's]1 [je]2 erfragen?
[Nur singen]3 muß ich immerzu:
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
Ist es dein Duft?
Ist's deiner Büsche Wallen?
Die kühle Luft,
Sind's deine hohen Hallen?
Daß es mich immer, immer wieder
Zu dir, Geliebter, zieht hernieder.
Wer mag es sagen,
Wer's [je]2 erfragen?
[Nur singen]3 muß ich immerzu:
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
Ist's dein Gesang?
Ist's deiner Tannen Sausen?
Dein Klagen bang?
Der alten Eichen Brausen?
Daß Heimweh [gleich]3 mich will erfassen,
Muß ich, o Trauter, dich verlassen.
Wer mag es sagen
Wer's [je]2 erfragen?
[Nur singen]3 mich ich immerzu:
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
Ist's Majestät?
Ist's heimisch trautes Wesen,
Was dich durchweht,
Dich macht so auserlesen?
Daß jauchzend dich des Sängers Lieder
Lobpreisen immer, immer wieder!
Wer mag es sagen,
Wer's [je]2 erfragen?
[Nur singen]3 muß ich immerzu:
O Wald, o Wald,
Wie ewig schön bist du!
K. Reinecke sets stanza 1
H. Schletterer sets stanzas 1, 3-4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874, mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, pages 75-76.
1 Reinecke: "Wer"2 Rohde: "zu"
3 Rohde: "Nein, singen"
3 Rohde: "bald"
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Waldlied", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 85 [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 Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "O Wald, wie ewig schön bist du", op. 176b (5 Lieder für 4 Männerstimmen) no. 2, published 1879 [ four-part men's chorus ], Breslau, Leuckart; note: this opus was used in 1861 for a different set so we have added the letter 'b' to it [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "O Wald, wie ewig schön bist du", op. 578 (Sechs Lieder für gemischten Chor) no. 3, published 1881 [ mixed chorus ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Adolf) Emil Büchner (1826 - 1908), "Waldlied", op. 16 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Aloys Theodor Commer (1813 - 1887), "Waldlied", op. 65 (Zwanzig Lieder für Fr. Oser, für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1880 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Trautwein'sche Buchhandlung [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georg Eduard Goltermann (1824 - 1898), "Waldlied", op. 85 (Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung ) no. 4, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Im Wald", op. 55 (6 Lieder aus Fr. Osers Naturliedern für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 2, published 1864 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Markull (1816 - 1887), "Waldlied", op. 110 (Zehn Naturlieder von Friedrich Oser für vierstimmigen Männerchor), Heft 3 no. 5, published 1870 [ ttbb chorus ], Schleusingen: C. Glaser [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Waldlied", op. 68 (Fünf Lieder und Gesänge) no. 1 (1860/2), stanza 1 [ four-part men's chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Rohde (1828 - 1883), "O Wald wie ewig schön bist du", published <<1901 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "Waldlied", op. 30 (Praktischer Unterricht im Chorgesange für Volksschulen, höhere Lehranstalten und Gesangvereine) no. 37, published 1867, stanzas 1,3-4, in Praktischer Unterricht im Chorgesange, in Schul-Lieder-Anhang, Nordsingen: C. H. Beck'schen Buchhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ottobald Walther (b. 1835), "O Wald", op. 5 (Drei Lieder für S., A., T. und B.) no. 1, published 1877 [ chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Friedrich) Oskar Wermann (1840 - 1906), "Waldlied", op. 32 (Sechs weltliche Gesänge für S., A., T. und B.), Heft 1 no. 2, published 1884 [ SATB chorus ], Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2010-05-05
Line count: 52
Word count: 232
Oh forest, oh forest
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Is it your greenery?
Is it your secret darkness?
Your colourful blooming?
The mad sparkling of the sun?
That makes me ever anew and always
Stand rapt in your magic, drunk with bliss.
Who may tell,
Who ever probe it?
I must only always sing:
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Is it your scents?
Is it the surging of your bushes?
The cool air,
Your high cathedrals?
That again and again I am drawn
Down to you, beloved.
Who may tell,
Who may ever probe it?
I must only always sing:
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Is it your singing?
Is it the whirling of your firs?
Your anxious lamentation?
The roaring of the old oaks?
That homesickness immediately assails me,
When I, oh lovely one, must leave you.
Who may tell,
Who ever probe it?
I must only always sing:
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
Is it majesty?
Is it homely, comforting being
That wafts through you,
That makes you so exquisite?
That the singer’s songs must again and again
Praise you rejoicingly!
Who may tell,
Who ever probe it?
I must only always sing:
Oh forest, oh forest,
How eternally beautiful you are!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Waldlied" = "Song of the forest"
"Im Wald" = "In the forest"
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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Waldlied", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 85
This text was added to the website: 2017-07-15
Line count: 52
Word count: 244