Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Language: German (Deutsch)
Wo noch ein Lied im Schweizerlande
Von alter Treu' und Liebe klingt,
Wo fest sie noch die heilgen Bande
Still segnend um die Herzen schlingt:
Da soll man deinen Namen nennen,
Den Vaternamen schlicht und wahr,
Und froher Dank soll dir entbrennen
Voll Inbrunst heut' und immerdar!
Wer theilte so mit warmem Herzen
Des Volkes Freud' und Lust wie du!
Und, ach! wie schlug's für seine Schmerzen
Dir bis zum Sterben immerzu!
Der Kinder Augen, wie sie sprühten,
Von deinem Wort und Blick erregt!
Der Kinder Herzen, wie sie glühten,
Der Blume gleich von dir gepflegt!
O bauet solcher Liebeskunde
Ein Denkmal nicht von Erz und Stein!
Ein Dank wie aus der Waisen Munde,
Das muß das rechte Denkmal sein!
Der Treue Segen muß bestehen.
Verklärt zu immer schönerm Hort,
Und nimmer, nimmer kann vergehen
Was lebt im Volk und Kinde fort!
Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, page 300.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Senior Associate Editor]This text was added to the website: 2026-02-16
Line count: 24
Word count: 143
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Where in Switzerland a song
Of old faithfulness and love still rings out,
Where they still twine the holy bonds
Around hearts with quiet blessings:
There they shall speak your name,
The paternal name simple and true,
And joyful gratitude shall flare up for you,
Full of fervency today and evermore!
Who like you shared the people's
Happiness and joy with a warm heart!
And, ah! how did your heart evermore
Throb for their pain until your death!
The eyes of the children, how they sparkled,
Excited by your word and glance!
The children's hearts, how they glowed,
Like a flower tended by you!
Oh do not build a monument of metal
And stone to such a proclamation of love!
An expression of gratitude from the lips of orphans,
That must be the proper monument!
The blessing of faithfulness must endure.
Transfigured to an ever more beautiful refuge,
And that which lives on within the people and within children
Can never, never pass away!
Subtitle: "(on the celebration of his 100th birthday on January 12, 1846)"
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.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-08-24
Line count: 24
Word count: 165
