Zur ew'gen Ruh' sie [sangen]1
die schöne Müllerin,
die Sterbeglocken [klangen]2
[noch über'n]3 Waldgrund hin.

Da steht ein Fels so kühle,
wo keine Wandrer gehn,
noch einmal nach der Mühle
[wollt dort der Jäger sehn]4.

Die Wälder [rauschten]5 leise,
sein Jagen [war]6 vorbei,
der blies so irre Weise,
als müsst' das Herz entzwei.

Und still dann in der Runde
[ward's]7 über Tal und Höh'n,
man hat seit dieser Stunde
ihn nimmermehr gesehn.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Werke in 4 Bänden, Bd. 1., Zürich & Köln, 1965.

¹ Grimm: "singen"
² Grimm: "klingen"
³ Grimm: "wohl über'm"
⁴ Grimm: "will dort der Jäger gehn"
⁵ Grimm: "rauschen"
⁶ Grimm: "ist"
⁷ Grimm: "war's"

Text Authorship:

• by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Der traurige Jäger", appears in Gedichte, in 7. Romanzen [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 Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Der traurige Jäger", op. 186 (Lieder und Chöre für 3 Frauenstimmen mit Pianoforte), Heft 7 (Bearbeitung nach Motiven von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) no. 28, published 1878 [ vocal trio of female voices or three-part women's chorus and piano ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Romanze (Der traurige Jäger)", op. 51 (Zehn Gesänge) no. 9 (1879), published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886 - 1954), "Der traurige Jäger", c1899 [ voice and piano ], unpublished ; manuscripts are in the Zurich Central Library [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Carl Georg Peter Grädener (1812 - 1883), "Der traurige Jäger", op. 45 (Sechs Lieder für Sopran und Alt mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1876 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth [sung text not yet checked]
• by Julius Otto Grimm (1827 - 1903), "Der traurige Jäger", op. 13 (Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 3 [ four-part men's chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Gustav Kanth , "Der traurige Jäger", published 1896 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Gedichte für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 2, Berlin, Challier & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Martens , "Der traurige Jäger", op. 24 no. 8, published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Eichendorff-Album. 20 Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung. Religiöse Lieder, no. 8, Berlin, Deneke [sung text not yet checked]
• by Martin Plüddemann (1854 - 1897), "Der schönen Müllerin Begräbniss", op. 50 (Drei Gedichte für Männerchor) no. 3, published 1898 [ men's chorus ], Leipzig, Rob. Forberg [sung text not yet checked]
• by Bruno Ramann (1832 - 1897), "Zur ewigen Ruh sie sangen", op. 27 (Fünf Lieder und Gesänge für gemischten Chor) no. 3, published 1874 [ mixed chorus ], Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by M. Samberger , "Der traurige Jäger", published 1892 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], from Fünf Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor, no. 3, Regensburg, Coppenrath [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der traurige Jäger", op. 75 (Romanzen und Balladen für Chor (Heft 2)) no. 3 (1849) [ SATB chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 - 1907), "Der traurige Jäger", op. 26 (3 Lieder nach Gedichten von J. von Eichendorff) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Bruno Walter (1876 - 1962), "Der traurige Jäger" [ voice and piano ], from Im Volkston, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De treurige jager", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The sad huntsman", copyright © 2007
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le chasseur triste", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• POR Portuguese (Português) (Margarida Moreno) , "O caçador triste", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2004-04-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 80

For eternal rest they sang
the fair miller-maid;
the funeral bells tolled
across the woodland.

There stands a crag so frigid,
where no traveler goes,
[but] the huntsman wished once more
to set out to see that mill.

The woods murmured gently,
his hunting was finished;
he puffed so oddly
as if his heart must split.

And then all around
it became still, across dale and hill.
Since that hour nobody has
ever seen him again.