Two paths | She stood at the verdant border of the garden

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by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Zwei Wege

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Sie stand am grünenden Gartenzaun --
Wie war die Hecke so grün! 
Sie wand ein Kränzchen aus Tausendschön,
Aus Myrth' und Rosmarin.

  "Als du die Blume zum Kranze wand'st,
Was dachtest Du dabei?"
""Ich dachte, wir stünden am Scheideweg',
Es wär' mit dem Lieben vorbei!""

  "Und sieh! -- Ein Weg führt über den Berg,
Ein andrer führt durch's Thal-- 
Und fänd' ich dich Mädchen nimmermehr,
Leb' wohl zum letzten Mal! --"

Confirmed with Slavische Melodien von Siegfried Kapper, Leipzig: Wilhelm Einhorn, 1844, pages 97-98.

Text Authorship:

by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Zwei Wege", appears in Slavische Melodien, in Aus Mähren [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by Walther von Goethe (1818 - 1885), "Zwei Wege" [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]

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

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

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 70

Two paths

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  She stood at the verdant border of the garden --
How green was the hedge!
She twined a little wreath of daisies,
Of myrtle and rosemary.

  "As you twined the flower into a wreath,
Of what were you thinking?"
""I was thinking that we stood at the parting of the ways,
That it was over with loving!""

  "And look! – One path leads over the mountain,
Another leads through the valley --
And should I nevermore find you, my maiden,
Farewell for the last time! -- "

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 Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Zwei Wege", appears in Slavische Melodien, in Aus Mähren
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 85