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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838)
Translation © by Suzanne Summerville

Ich träum als Kind mich zurücke
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Ich träum als Kind mich zurücke
Und schüttle mein greises Haupt;
Wie sucht ihr mich heim, ihr Bilder,
Die lang ich vergessen geglaubt?

Hoch ragt aus schatt'gen Gehegen
Ein schimmerndes Schloß hervor,
Ich kenne die Türme, die Zinnen,
Die steinerne Brücke, das Tor.

Es schauen vom Wappenschilde
Die Löwen so traulich mich an,
Ich grüße die alten Bekannten
Und eile den Berghof hinan.

Dort liegt die Sphinx am Brunnen,
Dort grünt der Feigenbaum,
Dort, hinter diesen Fenstern,
Verträumt ich den ersten Traum.

Ich tret in die Burgkapelle
Und suche des Ahnherrn Grab,
Dort ist's, dort hängt vom Pfeiler
Das alte Gewaffen herab.

Noch lesen umflort die Augen
Die Züge der Inschrift nicht,
Wie hell durch die bunten Scheiben
Das Licht darüber auch bricht.

So stehst du, o Schloß meiner Väter,
Mir treu und fest in dem Sinn
Und bist von der Erde verschwunden,
Der Pflug geht über dich hin.

Sei fruchtbar, o teurer Boden,
Ich segne dich mild und gerührt,
Und segn' ihn zwiefach, wer immer
Den Pflug nun über dich führt.

Ich aber will auf mich raffen,
Mein Saitenspiel in der Hand,
Die Weiten der Erde durchschweifen
Und singen von Land zu Land.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838), "Das Schloß Boncourt", appears in Lieder und lyrisch epische Gedichte [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 Felix (August Bernhard) Draeseke (1835 - 1913), "Schloß Boncourt", op. 34 (Zwei Balladen für mittlere Stimme) no. 2, published 1894 [ medium voice and piano ], Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Robert von Hornstein (1833 - 1890), "Schloss Boncourt", op. 51 (22 Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Stuttgart, Kröner [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Johanna Kinkel (1810 - 1858), "Das Schloß Boncourt", op. 9, published 1838 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Suzanne Summerville) , "Castle Boncourt", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le château Boncourt", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 194

Castle Boncourt
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
I shake my graying head
as dreams of childhood
I thought long forgotten 
engulf me.

A gleaming palace rises
out of a shady bank of hedges.
I recognize its towers, the battlements
and stone bridge, the gate.

From the coat of arms 
the lions look benevolently down on me.
I greet my old friends
and rush into the courtyard.

The sphinx is there beside the fountain
and the fig tree is in bloom.
The windows where I dreamed 
my earliest dreams are still there.

I enter the chapel 
and look for the graves of my ancestors.
The old armor
is hanging there

and light reflected 
from a hundred slivers
of glass
surrounds me.

So you are once again real in my thoughts, 
palace of my ancestors.
You disappeared from the earth 
and the plough covered you.

Be fruitful, o dear earth, 
I give to you my blessings,
and also to the one
who now guides the plough over you.

I must gather up 
my lyre 
and traverse the wide, wide world
singing from land to land.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2003 by Suzanne Summerville, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Suzanne Summerville.  Contact: sing (AT) mosquitonet.com

    If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838), "Das Schloß Boncourt", appears in Lieder und lyrisch epische Gedichte
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-26
Line count: 36
Word count: 176

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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