Christmas tree | Do you, too, hear the quiet voices

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by Christiane Rosalia Friederik (1839 - 1901), as Ada Christen

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Christbaum

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Hörst' auch Du die leisen Stimmen 
  Aus den bunten Kerzlein dringen?
Die vegessenen Gebete
  Aus den Tannenzweiglein singen?
Hörst' [auch Du]¹ das schüchternfrohe, 
  Helle Kinderlachen klingen?
Schaust' auch Du den stillen Engel
  Mit den reinen, weißen Schwingen?...
Schaust' auch Du Dich selber wieder
  Fern und fremd [nur]² wie im Traume?
Grüßt auch Dich mit Märchenaugen
  Deine Kindheit aus dem Baume?...

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Marx • R. Trunk

View text without footnotes

Confirmed with Schatten. Gedichte von Ada Christen. Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg, 1872, page 9.

¹ Marx: "Du auch"
² Trunk: "dich"

Text Authorship:

by Christiane Rosalia Friederik (1839 - 1901), as Ada Christen, "Christbaum", appears in Schatten [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 Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877 - 1933), "Christbaum", op. 11 (Acht Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 5, published 1906 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Joseph Marx (1882 - 1964), "Christbaum", 1908, published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], in Lieder und Gesänge, I. Folge, Nr.2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Richard Trunk (1879 - 1968), "Christbaum", op. 61 no. 7, published c1930 [ voice, piano ], from Weihnachtslieder, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Christmas tree", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Barbara Miller , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-23
Line count: 12
Word count: 62

Christmas tree

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Do you, too, hear the quiet voices
  Coming forth from the colourful little candles?
The forgotten prayers
  That sing from out of the fir branches?
Do you, too, hear the shyly happy,
  Bright laughter of children sounding?
Do you, too, see the quiet angel
  With its pure, white pinions? . . .
Do you, too, see yourself again,
  Distant and [strange only]¹ as in a dream?
Does, with fairy-tale eyes, your childhood
  Greet you, too, from out of the [Christmas] tree? . . .

Available sung text translations: ← What is this?

• R. Trunk

View text without footnotes
¹ Trunk: "strange, see yourself"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Christiane Rosalia Friederik (1839 - 1901), as Ada Christen, "Christbaum", appears in Schatten
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-06-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 85