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by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der alte König zog zu Wald
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Alt Solo
 Der alte König zog zu Wald,
 Das ist ein Jagen heute!
 Der Renner schnaubt, das Hifthorn schallt,
 Im Busche bellt die Meute.

Chorus
 Auf zur Jagd! Auf zur Jagd!
 Ihr Jäger, auf zur Pirsch!
 Wir woll'n den Hirsch erjagen,
 Den edlen rothen Hirsch.

 Der Tag steigt auf in Frische,
 Der Hirsch kehrt heim vom Feldt;
 Frisch auf denn ins Gebüsche,
 Wo er den Wechsel hält!

Alt solo
 Und als die Sonn' im Mittag steht,
 Da hat im Buchengehege
 Des Königs rosiges Töchterlein
 Verloren sich vom Wege.

 Sie reitet sacht, es reitet mit ihr
 Der Pag' im gelben Haare
 Und wäre sie nicht des Königs Kind,
 Sie taugten zum schönsten Paare.

 Er schaut sie an, sein Herz erbebt,
 Der Forst wird immer dichter,
 Die Wangen brennen ihm bis zur Stirn,
 Mit brennenden Wangen spricht er:

Page
 Du hold holdselige Prinzeß,
 Ich kann's nicht mehr verschweigen,
 Mein junges Herz, das bricht vor Lieb',
 Mein Herz, das ist dein eigen.

 O dürft' ich auf den rothen Mund
 Ein einzigmal dich küssen!
 Ich wäre der seligste Mann von der Welt,
 Sollt' ich drum sterben müssen.

Alt Solo
 Sie sagt nicht Ja, sie sagt nicht Nein,
 Sie hemmt des Rosses Zügel,
 Und als sie sich vom Sattel schwingt,
 Da hält er ihr den Bügel.

Prinzess
 Komm, lass' uns wandeln im tiefen Wald!

Page
 Wie sind so schattig die Lauben!

Prinzess
 Und hörst du die süsse Nachtigall?

Page
 Und die girrenden Turteltauben?

Prinzess
 O schau' die rothe wilde Rose,
 Wie im grünen Moos sie blüht,...

Page
 O gleich der rothen wilden Ros'
 Mein Herze brennt und glühet!

Prinzess
 ...schau' die rothe wilde Ros',
 Ich pflück' sie dir, geliebter Mann!

Page
 An meinem Herzen heft ich sie an!

Prinzess
 Und hörst du die süsse Nachtigall?

Prinzess und Page
 O traulich Minnen, selig Loos!

Alt Solo
 Sie ruhn im Moos bei der wilden Ros',
 Die Rosse sie lassen grasen;
 Sie hören nicht mehr die Nachtigall
 Und nicht der Jäger Blasen.

 Du alter König, harre nicht!
 Die schönste der Prinzessen
 Sie hat in deines Pagen Arm
 Dich und die Welt vergessen!

Chor aus der Ferne
 Ihr Jäger, auf zur Pirsch,
 Ihr Jäger, auf zur Jagd!

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the second stanza comes from the first stanza of H. Laube's Zur hohen Jagd.

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), no title, appears in Juniuslieder, in Balladen und Erzählungen, in Balladen vom Pagen und der Königstochter, no. 1
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der alte König zog zu Wald", op. posth. 140 no. 1, published 1858 [alto or mezzo-soprano, soprano or mezzo-soprano, and tenor soli, chorus, and orchestra], from Vom Pagen und der Königstochter, no. 1, Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-03
Line count: 76
Word count: 358

The old king rode out into the woods
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Alto Solo
The old king rode out into the woods,
What a hunting it is today!
The charger pants, the bugle sounds
The pack of hounds barks in the bushes.

Chorus
Off on the hunt!  Off on the hunt!
Ye huntsmen, off to the deer-stalking!
We want to hunt down the deer,
The noble red stag.

The day dawns in freshness,
The stag returns from the field;
Let us be off cheerily into the bushes,
To his habitual feeding track!

Alto Solo
And when the sun stood at midday,
There in the enclosure of beech trees
The king's rosy-cheeked daughter
Strayed from the path.

She rides gently; with her rides
The page with the blonde hair,
And were she not the child of the king,
They would make the most beautiful couple.

He gazes at her, his heart quakes,
The forest becomes ever more dense,
He blushes from cheek to forehead,
With burning cheeks he speaks:

Page
You lovely, lovely princess,
I can no longer keep it from you,
My young heart, it breaks for love,
My heart, it belongs to you.

Oh if I could but a single time
Kiss you upon your red lips!
I would be the happiest man in the world,
Even if I had to die for doing it.

Alto Solo
She speaks not yea, she speaks not nay,
She checks the horse's reins,
And as she swings herself from the saddle,
He holds the stirrup for her.

Princess
Come, let us wander in the deep woods!

Page
How shady are the bowers!

Princess
And do you hear the sweet nightingale?

Page
And the cooing turtledoves?

Princess
Oh see the red wild rose,
How it blooms in the green moss,...

Page
Oh, just like the red wild rose,
My heart burns and glows!

Princess
... see the red wild rose,
I will pick it for you, beloved man!

Page
I will fasten it to my heart!

Princess
And do you hear the sweet nightingale?

Princess and Page
Oh how wonderful to love, [what a] blessed lot!

Alto Solo
They rest on the moss by the wild rose,
Their steeds they leave to grazing,
They no longer hear the nightingale
Nor the bugling of the hunters.

You old king, do not look out for her!
The most beautiful of princesses
Has, in the page's embrace,
Forgotten you and the world.

Chorus from afar
Ye huntsmen, off to the deer-stalking,
Ye huntsmen, off to the chase!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 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:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) [an adaptation]
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), no title, appears in Juniuslieder, in Balladen und Erzählungen, in Balladen vom Pagen und der Königstochter, no. 1
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-04
Line count: 76
Word count: 408

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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!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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