Old German song | It is as if I were singing into the forest

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by Heinrich der tugendhafte Schreiber (flourished 1208-28)

Translation © by Harald Krebs

Es ist in den Wald gesungen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Es ist in den Wald gesungen,
Wenn ich der mein Leiden sage,
Die mein Herz mir hat bezwungen;
Sie hört nicht auf meine Klage.

Mir ist wie der Nachtigall,
Die so viel vergeblich singet,
Und ihr doch am Ende bringet
Lauter Schmerz ihr süßer Schall.

Was nützt in dem wilden Walde
Kleiner Vögelein Gesang,
Und ihr Tönen mannichfalte,
Wer sagt ihrem Singen Dank?

Stille bleibt der wilde Wald,
Und die Hirsche weiter ziehen,
Hören nicht den Ton im Fliehen,
Der so ganz umsonst verhallt.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Heinrich der tugendhafte Schreiber (flourished 1208-28) [author's text not yet checked 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 Ernst Paul Flügel (1844 - 1912), "Altdeutsches Minnelied", op. 35 (Fünf Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 2, published 1893 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Lied nach Heinrich von d. Vogelweide", op. 92 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5, published 1836 [ voice and piano ], Hannover, Nagel [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Altdeutsches Lied", op. 57 no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Harald Krebs) , "Old German song", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84

Old German song

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

It is as if I were singing into the forest,
When I tell my sorrows 
To her who has conquered my heart;
She does not listen to my lament.

I feel like the nightingale
Who sings so much in vain,
And yet at last her sweet sound
Brings her sheer pain.

What good is in the wild forest
The song of little birds
And their manifold tones[?]
Who thanks them for their singing?

The wild forest remains still,
And the deer move on;
While they flee they do not hear the sound 
That fades away in vain.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by Harald 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 Heinrich der tugendhafte Schreiber (flourished 1208-28)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 97