Heights and valleys | My maiden lives in the lowland

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by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Höhen und Thäler

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Mein Mädchen wohnt im Niederland,
Und ich wohn' auf der Höh';
Und daß so steil die Berge sind, 
Das thut uns beiden weh. 

Ach Felsen, ihr hohen Felsen ihr, 
Wozu seid ihr doch da? 
Wenn's überall fein eben wär', 
So wär' mein Schatz mir nah. 

Der Vater spricht: "Bleib' hier, mein Sohn,
Und bring dein Weib herauf."
Das Mädchen spricht: "Es kann nicht sein,
Mein Haus ich nicht verkauf."

Ach Felsen, ihr hohen Felsen ihr,
Wenn ihr doch sänket ein! 
Dann wär' der Streit ja gleich vorbei 
Und 's Mädchen wäre mein.

Confirmed with Gedichte von Wilhelm Müller, Herausgegeben von Max Müller, Erster Theil, Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus, 1868, page 66.

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Höhen und Thäler", appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 1, in Ländliche Lieder [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 C. Solbrück , "Höhen und Thäler", op. 10 (Sechs zweistimmige Lieder für 2 Soprane mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1886 [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with piano ], Hamburg, Niemeyer [sung text not yet checked]
by (Friedrich) Wilhelm Tschirch (b. 1818), "Höhen und Thäler", published 1867 [ men's chorus ], from Sieben Kompositionen für Männerchor, no. 5, Schleusingen: Glaser [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Heights and valleys", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 92

Heights and valleys

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My maiden lives in the lowland,
And I live upon the heights;
And that the mountains are so steep,
That pains us both.

Ah, rocky crags, ye high rocky crags ye,
Why ever are you there?
If it were nicely level everywhere,
My darling would be near me.

My father says: "Stay here, my son,
And fetch your wife up here."
The maiden says: "It cannot be,
I am not selling my house."

Ah rocky crags, ye high rocky crags ye,
If you would but collapse!
Then the strife would immediately be over
And the maiden would be mine.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 by Sharon Krebs, (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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Höhen und Thäler", appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 1, in Ländliche Lieder
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 99