[Ich hört' ein Bächlein]1 rauschen
Wohl aus dem Felsenquell,
Hinab zum Tale rauschen
So frisch und wunderhell.

Ich weiß nicht, wie mir wurde,
Nicht, wer den Rath mir gab,
Ich mußte [gleich]2 hinunter
Mit meinem Wanderstab.

Hinunter und immer weiter,
Und immer dem Bache nach,
Und immer [frischer]3 rauschte,
Und immer heller der Bach.

Ist das denn meine Straße?
O Bächlein, sprich, wohin?
Du hast mit deinem Rauschen
Mir ganz berauscht den Sinn.

Was sag ich denn [von]4 Rauschen?
Das kann kein Rauschen sein:
Es singen wohl die Nixen
[Dort]5 unten ihren Reihn.

Laß singen, Gesell, laß rauschen,
Und wandre fröhlich nach!
Es gehn ja Mühlenräder
In jedem klaren Bach.

J. Lang sets stanza 1

About the headline (FAQ)

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Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Erstes Bändchen. Zweite Auflage. Deßau 1826. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 8-9; and with Sieben und siebzig Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Dessau, 1821. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 9-10.

First published in a slightly different version with the title Der Bach in Gaben der Milde. Viertes Bändchen. Mit Beiträgen von [...]. Für die Bücher-Verloosung "zum Vortheil hülfloser Krieger" herausgegeben von F. W. Gubitz. Berlin, 1818, page 215.

¹ Lang: "Ein Bächlein hört' ich"
² Müller (1821 edition), and Schubert: "auch"
³ Müller (1821 edition), and Schubert: "heller"
⁴ Schubert: "vom"
⁵ Müller (1821 edition), and Schubert: "Tief"

Authorship:

• by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Wohin?", appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 1, in Die schöne Müllerin, no. 3, first published 1818 [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 (Carl) Ludwig (Heinrich) Berger (1777 - 1839), "Des Müllers Wanderlied", op. 11 no. 1, published 1818, from Gesänge aus einem gesellschaftlichen Liederspiele "Die schöne Müllerin", no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Sopran Camillo Engel (1864 - 1902), "Wohin", op. 7 (Neun Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 7, published 1895 [ voice and piano ], Budapest, Rózsavölgyi & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl August Heymann-Rheineck (1854 - 1922), "Erinnerung", op. 2 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 4, published 1882 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Schlesinger [sung text not yet checked]
• by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Der Bach", stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], unpublished, undated, incomplete [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Wohin?", op. 25 no. 2, D 795 no. 2 (1823), from Die schöne Müllerin, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by A. F. Wustrow , "Ich hört' ein Bächlein rauschen ", op. 15 (9 Gesänge) no. 4, published 1835 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Westphal [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, a translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882) , "Whither?", appears in Voices of the Night, first published 1839 ; composed by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, W. H. Bentley, John Blockley, A. H. Cox, Charles John Hargitt, Karl Pomeroy Harrington, John Liptrot Hatton, H. R. Howard, Edward James Loder, Edward Oswald Schaaf, Arthur Octavius Smith, Ogle Wintle.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Cap on?", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Waarheen?", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Where to?", copyright ©
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Mihin ?", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Vers où ?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) (Athanasios Papaisiou) , "Προς τα πού", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , "Cá raghair?", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Verso dove?", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• KOR Korean (한국어/조선말) [singable] (곽명규 Myung-Kew Kwack) , "어디로?", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• POR Portuguese (Português) (Caê Vieira) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 110

Eu ouvi um riacho murmurando
A partir da sua nascente nas rochas,
Murmurando para baixo, para o vale
Tão fresco e maravilhosamente claro.

Eu não sei o que me deu
E nem quem me deu esse conselho,
Mas eu também preciso ir para baixo
Apoiado em meu cajado.

Para baixo e sempre avante,
E cada vez mais próximo ao rio,
E cada vez mais fresco o murmúrio
E cada vez mais claro o rio.

É este então o meu caminho?
Oh, riacho, diga-me, para onde?
Você, com seu murmúrio
Me embriagou completamente os sentidos.

Mas por que eu chamo isso de murmúrio?
Isso não pode ser nenhum murmúrio:
É com certeza o canto das sereias
Fundo sob tua correnteza.

Cante então, companheiro, murmue
E siga viagem feliz!
Há sempre rodas de moinhos
Em todo e qualquer rio cristalino.