The maiden from a foreign land | In a certain valley, to the poor shepherds

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by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

In einem Thal bei armen Hirten

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

In einem Thal [bei]¹ armen Hirten
Erschien mit jedem jungen Jahr,
Sobald die ersten Lerchen schwirrten,
Ein Mädchen, schön und wunderbar.

Sie war nicht in dem Thal gebohren,
Man wußte nicht, woher sie kam,
[Doch]¹ schnell war ihre Spur verloren,
Sobald das Mädchen Abschied nahm.

Beseligend war ihre Nähe
Und alle Herzen wurden weit,
Doch eine Würde, eine Höhe
Entfernte die Vertraulichkeit.

Sie brachte Blumen mit und Früchte,
Gereift auf einer andern Flur,
In einem andern Sonnenlichte,
In einer glücklichern Natur.

Und theilte jedem eine Gabe,
Dem Früchte, jenem Blumen aus,
Der Jüngling und der Greis am Stabe,
Ein jeder gieng beschenkt nach Haus.

Willkommen waren alle Gäste,
Doch nahte sich ein liebend Paar,
Dem reichte sie der Gaben beste,
Der Blumen allerschönste dar.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert • F. Schubert

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Friederich Schiller, Erster Theil, Leipzig, 1800, bey Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius, pages 3-4, and with Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1797, herausgegeben von Schiller. Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaischen Buchhandlung, pages 17-18.

¹ Schubert (autograph D.117 only): "beim"
² Schiller (Musenalmanach): "Und"

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", written 1796, first published 1797 [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 Joh. W. Merkens van Gendt , "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", op. 18 (Drei Gedichte von Schiller, 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Haag, Boshart [sung text not yet checked]
by Georg Gerson (1790 - 1825), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", G. 110 (1822) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Georg Christoph Grossheim (1764 - 1841), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde" [sung text not yet checked]
by Jakob Adolf Hägg (1850 - 1928), "Das Mädchen in der Fremde", op. 31 (Sieben Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Gustav Adolph Hölzel (1813 - 1883), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", op. 96 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Friedrich Methfessel (1771 - 1807), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", published c1805 [ voice and guitar ], from Zwölf Lieder mit Begleitung der Guitarre, no. 11, Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", 1778 [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", D 117 (1814), published 1895 [ voice, piano ], first setting [sung text checked 1 time]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", D 252 (1815), published 1887 [ voice, piano ], second setting [sung text checked 1 time]
by Rudi Spring (b. 1962), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", op. 74b (2000) [ women's chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", op. 11 (Sechs Gesänge mit Begleitung des Piano-Forte) no. 4 [ voice and piano ], Bonn, Nikolaus Simrock [sung text not yet checked]
by August Heinrich von Weyrauch (1788 - 1865), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde" [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

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: 24
Word count: 126

The maiden from a foreign land

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 In a certain valley, to the poor shepherds
 appeared each young year
 with the first whirring larks,
 a maiden fair and wonderful.

 She was not born in the valley -
 no one knew from where she came -
 for quickly was all trace of her lost
 as soon as the maiden took her leave.

 Blissful was her proximity,
 and all hearts opened wide,
 but a dignity and an aloofness
 removed familiarity.

 She brought flowers with her and fruit,
 ripened in another field
 by the light of another sun,
 and in a happier world.

 And she gave to everyone a gift:
 fruit and flowers
 to the youth and the old man with a stick;
 each went home with presents.

 Welcome were all her guests,
 but when a loving pair came near,
 to them she bestowed her best gifts:
 of her flowers, the most beautiful.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", written 1796, first published 1797
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 142