[Steh ich]1 an meinem Fensterlein,
Schau in die stille Nacht hinein,
[Den]2 ich gesehen hab so gern,
Der weilet so fern.

Er weilt so fern, den ich geliebt,
Der mir Freud und Leiden giebt.
Leiden gab er mir so viel,
Doch mein Herz schwieg immer still.

Schweig nur still, du armes Herz,
Trag in Geduld nur deinen Schmerz!
[Ja, wenn die erste Liebe stirbt,
Dann ist's der Tod, der um mich/dich wirbt]3. --

Willst du mich denn noch ein Mal seh'n,
Ei, so steig auf Bergeshöh'n,
Schau hinab ins tiefe Thal,
Siehst du mich zum letzten Mal.

Willst du mich denn nicht mehr seh'n,
Ei, so will ich von dir geh'n,
Weinen bis das Herz mir bricht:
Schatz, leb wohl, vergiß mein nicht!

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Karl Becker (ed.), Rheinischer Volksliederborn. Auswahl der edelsten und schönsten Volkslieder mit ihren Melodien der verschiedenen Gegenden der Rheinlande, Neuwied am Rhein: Heuser's Verlag (Louis Heufer), 1892, page 65.

¹ variant given in Becker volume: "Ich stand"
² variant given in Becker volume: "Die" (note that the requisite accompanying pronoun change in the next line is not given by Becker)
³ variant given in Becker volume: "Ja im Grabe find'st du Ruh, / Den Frieden dazu"

Text Authorship:

• from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Er weilet so fern" [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 ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "He tarries so far away", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-10-17
Line count: 20
Word count: 126

[When I stand]1 at my little window,
Gazing out into the quiet night,
[He]2 whom I saw so gladly
Tarries so far away.

He tarries so far away, he whom I loved,
Who brings me joy and sorrows.
He brought me so many sorrows,
But my heart was always silent.

Only keep silent, you poor heart,
Bear your pain with patience!
[Yes, when one's first love dies,
Then it is death that woos one]3. --

If you wish to see me once more,
Ah, then climb to the mountain heights,
Look down into the deep valley,
You shall see me for the last time.

If then you do not wish to see me any longer,
Well, then I shall depart from you,
Shall weep until my heart breaks:
Darling, farewell, do not forget me!