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Im Grase lieg' ich manche Stunde Und sonne mich im Frühlingslicht; Die Augen schweifen in die Runde, Warum, wohin? Ich weiß es nicht. Ein Blümchen pflück' ich hin und wieder Und steck' es träumend an die Brust; Horch' auf der Vögel süße Lieder, Doch fehlt zum Singen mir die Lust. Und wenn die Wolken blau und blauer In lichter Wonne sich verweh'n, So überkommt's mich fast wie Trauer [Doch]1 nimmer weiß ich's zu versteh'n. Ein Immchen summt in stetem Kreise Wie'n altes Lied in meiner Näh', Wenn es mich stäche leise, leise, Vielleicht! ich wüßte dann mein Weh!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Franz: "Und"
Authorship
- by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Frühlingsdämmerung", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 7, first published 1848 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Im Frühling", op. 17 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 5, published 1853 [voice and piano], Leipzig, Whistling [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "In primavera", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 98
In the grass I lie for some hours And sun myself in the spring light; [My] eyes wander in [a] circle, Why, to where? I know not. A little flower I pick here and there And stick dreamily upon [my] breast; I listen to the bird's sweet song, But lack the desire to sing [myself]. And when the blue and bluer clouds In sunny delight blow away, Then I am nearly overcome [with] grief, [Yet]1 never [do] I know [how] to understand it. A little bee hums in [a] constant circle [Close to me], like an old song, If it stung me softly, softly, Perhaps! I would [understand] then my pain!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of title(s):
"Im Frühling" = "In spring"
"Frühlingsdämmerung" = "Spring twilight"
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Garrett Medlock, (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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Frühlingsdämmerung", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 7, first published 1848
This text was added to the website: 2019-01-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 111