[Ich auf der Erd', am Himmel du]1,
Wir wandern beide rüstig zu: -
Ich ernst und trüb, du [mild]2 und rein,
Was mag der Unterschied wol seyn?

Ich wandre fremd von Land zu Land,
So heimatlos, so unbekannt;
Bergauf, bergab, waldein, waldaus,
Doch [bin ich nirgend - ach! -]3 zu Haus.

Du aber wanderst auf und ab
Aus [Westens Wieg' in Ostens]4 Grab, -
Wallst länderein und länderaus,
Und bist doch, wo du bist, zu Haus.

Der Himmel, endlos ausgespannt,
Ist dein geliebtes Heimatland:
O glücklich, wer wohin er geht,
Doch auf der Heimat Boden steht!

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's Dichtungen. Zweiter Theil. Lieder der Nacht. [...] Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Wien. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger. 1826, page 24; with Lieder der Nacht. Von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Zweite, verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage. Wien, 1851. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger's Witwe, pages 23-24; and with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's gesammelte Schriften. Mit einer Einleitung von Julius von der Traun. Herausgegeben von Hans Max. Erster Band. [...] Wien, 1877. Wilhelm Braumüller k.k. Hof- und Universitätsbuchhändler, page 31.

¹ Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions): "Auf Erden - ich, am Himmel - du"
² Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions): "hell"
³ Seidl (1826 edition): "nirgend bin ich ach!"
⁴ Seidl (1851 and 1877 editions), and Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "Ostens Wieg' in Westens"

Authorship

• by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Der Wanderer an den Mond", appears in Lieder der Nacht [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), "Der Wanderer an den Mond", op. 80 (Drei Lieder) no. 1, D 870 (1826), published 1827 [ voice, piano ], Tobias Haslinger, VN 5028, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El caminant a la lluna", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De zwerver tot de maan", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The wanderer speaks to the moon", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le voyageur à la lune", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il viandante alla luna", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Il viandante alla luna", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 96

 I on the earth, you in the sky -
 we both wander briskly on:
 I stern and troubled, you mild and pure;
 what might be the difference between us?
 
 A stranger, I wander from land to land,
 so rootless and unknown;
 up mountains and down, into forests and out,
 but nowhere am I - alas! - at home.
 
 But you wander up and down,
 from the eastern cradle to the western grave,
 on your pilgrimage from land to land;
 and wherever you are, you are at home.
 
 The sky, endlessly spreading,
 is your beloved homeland;
 o happy is he who, wherever he goes,
 still stands on native ground!