The most beautiful song | Little brook, stop babbling!

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by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827)

Translation © by Malcolm Wren

Das schönste Lied

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Bächlein, laß dein Rauschen,
Räder, steht nur still!
Kommt heran zu lauschen,
Wer das schönste Liedchen hören will!

Still, ihr Nachtigallen,
Lerchen, Finken, still!
Laß' ein eitel Schallen,
Wer das schönste Liedchen lernen will!

Sonne, gieß herunter
Deinen hellsten Schein!
Frühling, strahle bunter:
Die geliebte Müllerin ist mein!

Confirmed with Der Gesellschafter oder Blätter für Geist und Herz. Herausgegeben von F. W. Gubitz. Zweiter Jahrgang. Berlin, 1818. In der Maurerschen Buchhandlung. Sonnabend den 30. Mai. 86stes Blatt, page 341.

Note: This is the initial and substantially different version of Mein!, the central poem in Müller's Die schöne Müllerin. It was followed by Ein ungereimtes Lied.

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Das schönste Lied", first published 1818 [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

Set in a modified version by Friedrich Curschmann, A. Hartel, Franz Peter Schubert.

Go to the text. [ view differences ] CAT DUT ENG ENG FIN FRE GRE ITA KOR POR

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

ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "The most beautiful song", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2017-11-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 48

The most beautiful song

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Little brook, stop babbling!
Wheels, stop moving now!
Come here to listen,
Anybody who wants to hear the most beautiful little song!

Quiet, you nightingales,
Larks, finches, quiet!
Stop your pointless chatter,
Anybody who wants to know about the most beautiful little song!

Sun, pour down
Your brightest light!
Spring, shine more colourfully:
The beloved miller girl is mine!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Malcolm Wren, (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), "Das schönste Lied", first published 1818
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-10-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 59