Was vermeid' ich denn die Wege,
Wo die [andren]1 Wandrer gehn,
Suche mir versteckte Stege
Durch [verschneite]2 Felsenhöhn?

Habe ja doch nichts begangen,
Daß ich Menschen sollte scheun -
Welch ein thörichtes Verlangen
Treibt mich in die Wüstenein?

Weiser stehen auf den [Straßen]3,
Weisen auf die Städte zu,
Und ich wandre sonder Maßen,
Ohne Ruh', und suche Ruh'.

Einen Weiser seh' ich stehen
Unverrückt vor meinem Blick;
Eine Straße muß ich gehen,
Die noch Keiner ging zurück.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Zweites Bändchen. Deßau 1824. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, page 97; and with Deutsche Blätter für Poesie, Litteratur, Kunst und Theater. Herausgegeben von Karl Schall und Karl von Holtei. Breslau 1823, bei Graß, Barth und Comp. No. XLII. 14. März 1823, page 165.

First published in Deutsche Blätter (see above) as no. 7 of the installment of Die Winterreise. Lieder von Wilhelm Müller.

¹ Müller (Deutsche Blätter), and Schubert: "andern"
² Müller (Deutsche Blätter): "beschneite"
³ Schubert: "Wegen"

Text Authorship:

• by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Der Wegweiser", written 1822-23, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 16, first published 1823 [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 Reiner Bredemeyer (1929 - 1995), "Der Wegweiser", 1984, first performed 1985 [ baritone, horn, and piano ], from Die Winterreise, no. 16, VEB Deutscher Verlag [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Carl, Graf Nostitz , "Duo", published 1886 [ voice and piano ], from Fünfzig Lieder, no. 37, Prag, Hoffmann [sung text not yet checked]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Wegweiser", op. 89 no. 20, D 911 no. 20 (1827), published 1828 [ voice and piano ], from Winterreise, no. 20, Haslinger [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johannes (Hans) Wolfgang Zender (b. 1936), "Der Wegweiser", 1993 [ tenor and small orchestra ], from Schuberts Winterreise, no. 20 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• AFR Afrikaans [singable] (Robert Schall) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L'indicador", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Jelle Leistra) , "De wegwijzer", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De wegwijzer", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Arthur Rishi) , "The signpost", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "The signpost", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English [singable] (David Paley) , "The signpost", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Poteau indicateur", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRI Frisian [singable] (Pieter Wiersma) , "De Paadwizer", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Max Mader) , "התמרור", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Il segnale stradale", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• KOR Korean (한국어/조선말) [singable] (곽명규 Myung-Kew Kwack) , "이정표", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ofer Sheinberg , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 76

Wat vermijd ik dan de wegen,
waar de andere wandelaars gaan,
zoek voor mij verborgen1 paadjes
door met sneeuw bedekte rotstoppen?

Heb toch2 niets begaan
waardoor ik mensen zou moeten mijden,
welk een dwaas verlangen
drijft me in de woestenijen?

Wegwijzers staan op de straten,
wijzen naar de steden,
en ik wandel zonder mate,
zonder rust, en rust zoekend.

Een wegwijzer zie ik staan
onverzettelijk voor mijn blik,
een straat moet ik nemen,
die nog niemand terugging.