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Die Blume. O Quell, was strömst du rasch und wild, Und wühlst in deinem Silbersande, Und drängst, von weißem Schaum verhüllt, Dich schwellend auf am grünen Rande? O riesle, Quell, Doch glatt und hell, Daß ich, verklärt von zartem Thaue, Mein zitternd Bild in dir erschaue. Der Quell. O Blume, kann ich ruhig seyn, Wenn sich dein Bild in mir bespiegelt, Und wunderbare Liebespein Mich bald zurückhält, bald beflügelt? Drum streb' ich auf Mit irrem Lauf Und will mit schmachtendem Verlangen, Du Zarte, deinen Kelch umfangen. Die Blume. O Quell, ich stehe viel zu fern, Du kannst dich nie zu mir erheben; Doch freundlich soll mein Blüthenstern Auf deiner heitern Fläche beben. Drum riesle hin Mit stillem Sinn; Süß ist's, im Busen ohne Klagen Der Liebsten keusches Bild zu tragen. Der Quell. O Blume, Rath und Trost ist leicht, Doch schwer ist's, hoffnungslos zu glühen; Wenn auch mein Kuß dich nie erreicht, So muß ich ewig doch mich mühen. Ein Blatt allein Laß du hinein In meine wilde Tiefe fallen, Dann will ich still vorüberwallen.
F. Schubert sets stanza 1
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Ernst Schulze's sämmtliche poetische Schriften. Dritter Band. I. Poetisches Tagebuch. [...] Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. 1819, pages 45-46 and with Sämmtliche poetische Werke von Ernst Schulze. Neue Ausgabe mit sechszehn Kupfern. Dritter Theil. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. 1822, pages 46-47.
Note: Schubert's fragment breaks off almost at the end of the first stanza, in the middle of the word "erschaue".
Text Authorship:
- by Ernst Konrad Friedrich Schulze (1789 - 1817), "Am 8ten Januar 1814", written 1814, appears in Poetisches Tagebuch, vom 29ten Junius 1813 bis 17ten Februar 1817, first published 1819 [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 Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Blume und der Quell", D 874 (1826?), published 1959, stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], fragment, first stanza completed by Reinhard van Hoorickx [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De bloem en de bron", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La fleur et la source", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 167
The flower: Oh spring, why are you flowing so swiftly and savagely, And why are you burrowing into your silver sand, And, covered with white foam, why are you pressing Yourself and swelling up against the green bank? Oh spring, trickle Smoothly and brightly, will you, So that, transfigured by delicate dew, I Can see my trembling face in you. The spring: Oh flower, can I be calm When your image is mirrored in me, And amazing pains of love Sometimes hold me back and sometimes give me wings? I therefore surge upwards With a wayward course, And with a soulful longing I want To embrace your calyx, you tender being. The flower: Oh spring, I am standing much too far away, You can never rise up to reach me; The star of my petals will be friendly And will tremble on your bright surface. So trickle along, With a quiet mind; It is sweet not to complain and to Carry the chaste image of the beloved in your breast. The spring: Oh flower, advice and solace are easy, But it is hard to glow without hope; If it is true that my kiss can never reach you I shall nevertheless have to keep on striving forever. A single petal, Drop a single petal And let it fall into my savage depths, Then I will be able to flow past quietly.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Am 8ten Januar 1814" = "On the 8th January 1814"
"Die Blume und der Quell" = "The flower and the spring"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Malcolm Wren, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Ernst Konrad Friedrich Schulze (1789 - 1817), "Am 8ten Januar 1814", written 1814, appears in Poetisches Tagebuch, vom 29ten Junius 1813 bis 17ten Februar 1817, first published 1819
This text was added to the website: 2020-03-25
Line count: 36
Word count: 223