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Freund meiner Jugend, zu dir kehr ich voll Dankbarkeit Manchen Abend zurück, wenn im Fliedergebüsch Des entschlummerten Gartens Nur der rauschende Brunnen noch tönt. Keiner kennt dich, o Freund; weit hat die neuere Zeit Sich von Griechenlands stillen Zaubern entfernt, Ohne Gebet und entgöttert Wandelt nüchtern das Volk im Staub. Aber der heimlichen Schar innig Versunkener, Denen der Gott die Seele mit Sehnsucht schlug, Ihr erklingen die Lieder Deiner göttlichen Harfe noch heut. Sehnlich wenden wir uns, vom Tag Ermüdete, Der ambrosischen Nacht deiner Gesänge zu, Deren wehender Fittich Uns beschattet mit goldenem Traum. Ach, und glühender brennt, wenn dein Lied uns entzückt, Schmerzlicher brennt nach der Vorzeit seligem Land, Nach den Tempeln der Griechen Unser ewiges Heimweh auf.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 193.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Ode an Hölderlin", written 1913 [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 Krause (b. 1889), "Ode an Hölderlin", op. 15 no. 5, published 1958 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Ode to Hölderlin", copyright © 2018, (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: 2007-06-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 119
Friend of my youth, to you I return full of gratitude On many an evening, when in the lilac bushes Of the slumbering garden Only the rushing fountain still sounds. No one knows you, oh friend; the newer era has Distanced itself far from Greece’s quiet enchantments; Without prayer and deprived of gods, The people wander prosaically in the dust. But for the secret band of devout contemplative ones, Whose souls the god struck with yearning, For them the songs of your Divine harp still ring out today. Yearningly we, wearied by the day, Turn to the ambrosial night of your songs, Whose wafting pinions Shadow us with a golden dream. Ah, and, when your song enraptures us, more glowingly, More painfully, for the ancient blessed land, For the temples of the Greeks Our eternal homesickness flames.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Ode an Hölderlin", written 1913
This text was added to the website: 2018-05-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 137