Traget linde Lüftchen! traget
   meiner [Harfe]1 leisen Klang,
   meiner Stimme Abendsang,
zu der Holden die ich meine,
   sagt ihr wieder [was]2 ich hier,
   ach so weit getrennt von ihr,
[stöhne, weine]3.

Was ich selbst mir nicht [erlaubt]4,
   bei der Abend-Kühlung [Wehn]5
   seufzend einen Kuß zu flehn,
bitte jetzt mit sanfter Klage,
   [Harfe]1! daß der Abendwind
   Noch den Ton, [so leis und lind]6
zu ihr trage.

Dort durch ihre Locken lisple
   was ihr Trauter seufzend meint[,]
   jede Zähre die er weint,
jedes Schmeicheln seiner Lieder,
   jedes Hoffen das er hegt,
   jeden Wunsch der ihn bewegt
sag' ihr wieder.

Traget linde Lüftchen! traget
   meiner [Harfe]1 leisen Ton
   zu der Holden, die ich schon
[im entflammten]7 Geist umschließe,
   lispelt wenn die Stimme schweigt,
   und der letzte Ton entweicht,
noch [Luise]8! --

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Lyratöne von Theodor Hell, Zweite Tonreihe, Dresden: Arnoldsche Buchhandlung, 1821, pages 41-42.

Note: There are three manuscripts of Lang's song. The first version sets all four stanzas. The second version contains only the text of the first stanza, but with room left on the score for the other three. The third version sets only the first stanza.

¹ Harder: "Laute"
² Harder: "dass"
³ Harder: "stöhn' und weine"
⁴ Harder: "erlaubte"
⁵ Lang (first version only): "weh'n"
⁶ Lang (first version only), Harder: "eh' er verrinnt"
⁷ Lang (first version only): "jetzt in trübem"; Harder: "jetzt im trunk'nen"
⁸ Lang (first version only), Harder: "Elise"

Text Authorship:

• by Karl Gottfried Theodor Winkler (1775 - 1856), "Ständchen aus der Ferne", appears in Lyratöne, in Töne der Liebe [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 Friedrich Ernst Fesca (1789 - 1826), "Ständchen aus der Ferne", op. 32 (Fünf deutsche Lieder mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 3 [ voice and piano ], Bonn: N. Simrock [sung text not yet checked]
• by Joseph Fischhof (1804 - 1857), "Ständchen aus der Ferne", op. 37 (Fünf Gesänge für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1838 [ baritone and piano ], Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
• by August Harder (1775 - 1813), "Ständchen aus der Ferne" [ voice and piano ], Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Ständchen", alternate title: "Ständchen aus der Ferne", c1834 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Friedrich Hieronymus Truhn (1811 - 1886), "Ständchen aus der Ferne", op. 16 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2, published 1834 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: F. Hofmeister [sung text not yet checked]

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2022-12-29
Line count: 28
Word count: 139

Gentle breezes, carry! carry
   the quiet sounds of my harp,
   the evening song of my voice,
to the lovely one whom I mean,
   tell her again, how here, 
   ah separated so far from her,
I moan, weep.

What I did not permit myself to do,
   sighingly to beg for a kiss
   at the wafting of the evening coolness,
[I] plead now with gentle lamenting,
   harp! that the evening wind,
   may yet, [so quietly and softly]1,
carry the tone to her.

Whisper through her curly hair
   that which her beloved means as he sighs[,]
   every tear that he sheds,
every flattery of his songs,
   every hope he cherishes,
   every wish that moved him,
tell to her once more.

Gentle breezes, carry! carry
   the quiet tones of my harp
   to my beloved, whom [in fervent]2 spirit
I already embrace,
   whisper yet when my voice falls silent,
   and the last tone vanishes,
[Luise]3! --