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by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891)

Letztes Lächeln
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Die Lüfte noch so mild und lau, 
Der Himmel wie so klar und blau! 
  Doch Alles kahl ringsum, 
  Und, ach! so todtenstumm! 

O bittrer Wahn! o eitler Schein! 
Nicht ist's der Lenz, der bricht herein,
  Weh! nur in letzter Noth
  Ein Lächeln vor dem Tod!

Nur wenig Zeit, da ziehen her
Von Norden Wolken grau und schwer,
  Am Abend aber weit
  Ist Alles überschneit!

Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, page 128.


Text Authorship:

  • by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Letztes Lächeln", appears in Liederbuch, in 1. Naturlieder, no. 145 [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 Philipp Tietz (1816 - 1878) [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Final smile", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-10-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 64

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