Die Schwalben
Language: German (Deutsch)
Was singt ihr heut so munter,
Ihr Schwalben, und so schön,
Und schwirrt zu mir herunter
Ihr aus den blauen Höhn?
Seid ihr vorbeigeflogen
Dort an dem schönen See,
Von dem ich weggezogen
Einst weit mit Leid und Weh?
Wie prächtig muß er flimmern
Wohl jetzt zur Frühlingszeit;
Wie hold wohl müßen schimmern
Die Ufer weit und breit!
Ihr Schwalben mögt ermessen
Wohl auch der Heimath Weh:
Ich kann ihn nicht vergessen,
Den schönen blauen See!
O hebt, o hebt die Schwingen,
Fliegt über's blühnde Land,
Noch heut' den Gruß zu bringen
Von fern dem trauten Strand!
Und badet das Gefieder
Ihr müd im klaren See,
Singt eure schönsten Lieder
Ihm zu von Glück und Weh!
Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, pages 69-70.
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):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The swallows", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2022-08-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 117
The swallows
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Why are you singing so merrily today,
Ye swallows, and so beautifully,
And ye whirr down to me
From the blue heights?
Did you fly past
The beautiful lake there,
From which I once moved far away
With sorrow and pain?
How splendidly it must be sparkling
Now in springtime;
How beautifully must be shimmering
The shoreline far and wide!
Ye swallows might appreciate
The pain of homesickness as well:
I cannot forget it,
The lovely blue lake!
Oh lift, oh lift your wings,
Fly over the blossoming countryside,
To bring my greeting today yet
To the familiar shore from afar!
And if, [when you are] weary, you bathe
Your feathers in the clear lake,
Sing to it your most beautiful songs
Of happiness and pain!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-06-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 127