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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Franz Adolf Friedrich von Schober (1796 - 1882)
Translation © by Malcolm Wren

Ich schieß' den Hirsch im dunklen Forst
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Ich schieß' den Hirsch im [dunklen]1 Forst,
Im stillen Thal das Reh,
Den Adler [in]2 dem Klippenhorst,
Die Ente auf dem See.
Kein Ort, der Schutz gewähren kann,
Wenn meine Flinte zielt;
Und dennoch hab' ich harter Mann
Die Liebe auch gefühlt! -

Hab oft hantirt in rauher Zeit,
In Sturm und Winternacht,
Und übereist und eingeschneit
Zum Bett den Stein gemacht.
Auf Dornen schlief ich wie auf Flaum,
Vom Nordwind ungerührt,
Doch hat der Liebe zarten Traum
Die rauhe Brust gespürt.

Der wilde Falk war mein Gesell,
Der Wolf mein [Kampfgespann]3;
[Es fing der]4 Tag mit Hundgebell,
Die Nacht mit Hussa an.
Ein Tannreis war die Blumenzier
Auf schweißbeflecktem Hut,
Und dennoch schlug die Liebe mir
Ins wilde Jägerblut.

O Schäfer auf dem weichen Moos,
Der du mit [Blüthen]5 spielst,
Wer weiß, ob du so heiß, so groß
Wie ich die Liebe fühlst.
Allnächtlich überm schwarzen Wald,
Vom Mondenschein umstrahlt,
Schwebt [königsgroß]6 die Lichtgestalt,
Wie sie kein Meister malt.

Wenn sie dann auf mich niedersieht,
Wenn mich [der]7 Blick durchglüht,
[Dann weiß]8 ich, wie dem Wild geschieht,
Das vor dem Rohre flieht.
[Und doch!]9 mit allem Glück vereint
Das nur auf Erden ist;
[Als]10 wenn der allerbeste Freund
Mich in die Arme schließt.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Franz von Schober. Stuttgart und Tübingen. J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag. 1842, pages 30-31; and with Gedichte von Franz von Schober. Zweite, vermehrte Auflage. Leipzig Verlagsbuchhandlung von J. J. Weber. 1865, pages 41-42.

1 Schubert: "grünen"; Finsterbusch: "wilden" (and further changes may exist not shown above)
2 Schubert: "auf"
3 Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "Kampfgespan"
4 Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "Mir fing der"; Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "Ich fing den"
5 Schubert: "Blumen"
6 Schubert: "königshehr"
7 Schubert: "ihr"
8 Schober (1865 edition): "Dann fühl'"; Schubert: "Da weiß"
9 Schober (1865 edition): "Ich fühl's"
10 Schober (1865 edition): "Wie"

Text Authorship:

  • by Franz Adolf Friedrich von Schober (1796 - 1882), "Jägers Liebeslied" [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 Reinhold Finsterbusch , "Ich schiess' den Hirsch im wilden Forst", op. 18 (Zwei Lieder für Bass-Stimme mit Pianofortebleitung) no. 1, published 1887 [ bass and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Jägers Liebeslied", op. 96 (Vier Lieder) no. 2, D 909 (1827), published 1828 [ voice, piano ], Lithographisches Institut, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Liefdeslied van de jager", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chant d'amour du chasseur", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Lau Kanen [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 213

I shoot the deer in the green forest
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
I shoot the deer in the green forest,
The roe in the quiet valley,
The eagle on its nest on the cliff-face,
The duck on the lake.
There is no place that can offer protection
When my shotgun takes aim;
And yet, hard man that I am, I have
Also felt love!

I have often been busy at difficult times,
During storms and on winter nights,
And covered in ice and snow
I have made my bed on stone.
I have slept on thorns as if on down,
Undisturbed by the north wind,
Yet tender dreams of love
Have made an impression on my rough breast.

The wild hawk was my companion,
The wolf my equal in battle;
I began the day with the barking of dogs,
Night began with tally-ho.
A sprig of fir was the flowery decoration
On my sweat-stained hat,
And yet love was throbbing within me
In my wild huntsman's blood.

You shepherd on the soft moss
Playing with flowers,
Who knows if it is as hot, as significant
For you when you feel love?
Every night over the black woods,
Illuminated by moonlight,
That sublimely regal figure of light hovers 
In a way that no master could paint.

Then when it looks down on me,
When its gaze glows through me,
I know what it is like for the game
Flying away from the barrel of a gun.
And yet! it comes along with all the happiness
That is now on earth;
As if my very best friend
Were enfolding me in his arms.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Ich schiess' den Hirsch im wilden Forst" = "I shoot the deer in the green forest"
"Jägers Liebeslied" = "Hunter's love song"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Malcolm Wren, (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 Franz Adolf Friedrich von Schober (1796 - 1882), "Jägers Liebeslied"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2020-04-16
Line count: 40
Word count: 259

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
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