Melancholy | When I walk through wood and field

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by Matthäus Kasimir von Collin (1779 - 1824)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Wenn ich durch Wald und Fluren geh

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Wenn ich durch Wald und Fluren geh,
Es wird mir dann so wohl und weh
In unruhvoller Brust.
So wohl, so weh, wenn ich die Au,
In ihrer Schönheit Fülle schau',
Und all' die Frühlingslust.

Denn, was im Winde tönend weht,
Was aufgethürmt gen Himmel steht,
Und auch der Mensch, so hold vertraut,
Mit all' der Schönheit, die er schaut,
Entschwindet, und vergeht.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Selam. Ein Almanach für Freunde des Mannigfaltigen auf das Jahr 1813. Herausgegeben von I.F.Castelli. Wien, gedruckt und im Verlage bey Anton Strauß, page 203.

Note: This is the first version of Collin's poem. A later version, with the title Naturgefühl, has been published posthumously in 1827 (see below).

Authorship:

by Matthäus Kasimir von Collin (1779 - 1824), "Wehmuth", first published 1813 [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 Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Wehmut", op. 22 (Zwei Lieder) no. 2, D 772 (1822?), published 1823 [sung text checked 1 time]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ivar Hallström.

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

Research team for this text: Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 63

Melancholy

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When I walk through wood and field,
I feel so good and then so melancholy
in my unquiet breast.
So good, so melancholy, when I see the meadow
in the fullness of its beauty,
and all the joy of Spring.

For whatever blows resounding in the wind,
whatever stands towering up toward Heaven,
and man too, so dearly familiar
with all the beauty that he sees,
will disappear and die.

Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthäus Kasimir von Collin (1779 - 1824), "Wehmuth", first published 1813

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 70