Where to the Rhine River
The hills descend,
At Mainz in the old cathedral
There is a singer’s grave.
Under the stone lie
The remains of Heinrich Frauenlob,
Who wove the golden net of song
About lovely women.

Because he sang so beautifully,
So faithfully until his death,
His song ascending
Like the final sunset,
There was a great lamentation,
All wept,
And all the women joined together
To bear him to his grave.

Whether she came in a roar of splendour,
The crown in her hair,
Whether a rose at her breast
Was her sole adornment;
[The adornment] that I consider the loveliest,
It was full of humility:
The faithful tear of sympathy,
That quietly flowed from the eye.

To the sanctuary they bore
The much-beloved burden
And scattered many a flower
Into his quiet resting place;
And from the vines they poured
Many noble drops upon it!
As in life, roses still bloomed
For him in death.

The reward that was granted to him,
The singer, I praise it highly,
But I know of something here on earth,
Which I would call even more beautiful.
That is what I would like to strive for,
May that be my great prize
When in life I have worked
With noble manly spirit:

When from youthful tongues
My song shall someday ring out brightly,
When full of remembrances
They brandish the goblet;
When in joy and sorrow
It rings out with power and strength:
With a faithful heart
He worked for the Fatherland!