Der Wind zieht seine Hosen an,
Die [weißen]1 Wasserhosen!
Er peitscht die Wellen, so stark er kann,
Die heulen und brausen und tosen.

Aus dunkler Höh, mit wilder Macht,
Die Regengüsse träufen;
Es ist, als wollt die alte Nacht
Das alte Meer ersäufen.

An den Mastbaum klammert die Möwe sich
Mit [heiserem Schrillen]2 und Schreien;
Sie flattert und will gar [ängstiglich]3
Ein Unglück [prophezeien]4.

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Note: the White score has two typos in stanza 3. In line 1, "Möwe" is spelled "Möve" and in line 4, "prophezeien" is spelled "prophezeihen".

¹ Lachner: "alten"
² Lachner: "heis'rem Schrillen"; White: "heis'ren Schrill'n"
³ Lachner: "ängstlich"
⁴ Lachner: "prophezei'n"

Text Authorship:

• by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 10 [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• by Franz Paul Lachner (1803 - 1890), "Die Wasserhosen", unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alexander Rapoport (b. 1957), "Der Wind zieht seine Hosen an", 1988, from Lieder nach Texten von Heinrich Heine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Der Wind zieht seine Hosen an", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Der Sturm", published 1888? [ voice and piano ], from New Albums of Songs with German and English Words, Volume 1, no. 10, London: Pitt & Hatzfeld, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Walter Thomas Heyn (b. 1953), "Seebild : zwei Gedichte aus dem Zyklus "Die Heimkehr"", op. 63 (Lebensgruß : 10 Lieder nach Texten von Heinrich Heine) no. 3, published c2003 [ low voice and guitar ]
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Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, a translation by Blanche Fanny Wyatt-Smith (flourished 1883-1921) ; composed by Maude Valérie White.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le vent enfile son pantalon", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-09
Line count: 12
Word count: 69

Le vent enfile son pantalon,
Son blanc pantalon d'eau!
Il fouette les vagues aussi fort qu'il peut,
Elles hurles, grondent et mugissent.

Des sombres cieux, avec une force sauvage,
Se déverse le flot de la pluie;
C'est comme si la vieille nuit voulait
Noyer la vieille mer.

Les mouettes se cramponnent au mât,
Elles poussent des cris rauques et stridents;
Elles voltigent et bien effrayées
Prophétisent un malheur.