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Zum Walde mußt du wandern gehn, Zum grünen Hag, zum dunklen Tann, Drin all die Wunder noch geschehn, Von denen je die Liebe sann; [Zum]1 Walde, wo vom jungen Reis Dein Herz ein junges Hoffen bricht, Zum Wald, der all' dein Sehnen weiß Und deine stillste Sprache spricht. Im Walde klingt das leise Wort, Dem du gelauschet lang und tief, Und jeder Name säuselt dort, Den je dein Herz in Liebe rief, Und was hier außen stumm und kalt An deiner Brust vorüberzieht, Das weiht der Wald, der heil'ge Wald, Das rauscht er dir in Ton und Lied. Und wanderst du im Wald allein, -- Wo hat die Erde schönern Raum? Und ruhst du drinnen gar zu Zwei'n, -- Wo hat der Himmel sel'gern Traum? Und grüßt vom Grunde her sobald Ein fernes Posthorn in den Hag, Dann gibt der Wald, der grüne Wald, Was Erd' und Himmel je vermag.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Heideblumen. Gedichte von Georg Scheurlin, Heidelberg: Universitätsbuchhandlung von KarlWinter, 1858, pages 101-102.
1 Herbeck: "Im"Text Authorship:
- by Georg Scheurlin (1802 - 1872), "Zum Walde", appears in Heideblumen: Gedichte, in Waldmeister. -- Waldnacht, first published 1858 [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 Carl Attenhofer (1837 - 1914), "Zum Walde", op. 53 (Acht leichte Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 5, published 1885 [ ttbb chorus ], Zürich: Gebrüder Hug & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Herbeck (1831 - 1877), "Zum Walde", op. 8 no. 1, published 1873 [ ttbb chorus and horns ], Leipzig: Verlag von F.E.C. Leuckart [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Köllner (1839 - 1891), "Zum Walde musst du wandern geh'n", op. 43 (Vier Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 1, published 1876 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], Delitzsch, Pabst [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Zum Walde", op. 2 (Fünf Lieder und Gesänge für gemischten Chor) no. 3, published 1867 [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-15
Line count: 24
Word count: 150
You must go a-wandering to the woods, To the green grove, to the dark forest, In which all the wonders That ever love imagined still happen; [To]1 the woods where from the young sprig Your heart breaks off a fresh hoping, To the woods that know all your yearning And speak your quietest language. In the woods there sounds the quiet word To which you hearkened long and deeply, And every name that your heart ever Called out in love, rustles there, And whatever out here mutely and coldly Passes before your bosom, The woods, the holy woods, Sough to you in tone and song. And if you wander alone in the woods, -- Where does the world offer a more beautiful place? And if you rest therein as a twosome, -- Where does heaven offer a more blessed dream? And if from the depths a distant post-horn Sends a greeting into the grove, Then the woods, the green woods, give you Everything that earth and heaven can.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of titles:
"Zum Walde" = "To the woods"
"Zum Walde musst du wandern geh'n" = "You must go a-wandering to the woods"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 Georg Scheurlin (1802 - 1872), "Zum Walde", appears in Heideblumen: Gedichte, in Waldmeister. -- Waldnacht, first published 1858
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-31
Line count: 24
Word count: 168