Ein Jüngling auf dem Hügel
Mit seinem Kummer saß,
Wohl ward der Augen Spiegel
Ihm trüb' und tränennaß.

Sah frohe Lämmer spielen
Am grünen Felsenhang,
Sah frohe Bächlein quillen
Das bunte Tal entlang;

Die Schmetterlinge sogen
Am roten Blütenmund,
Wie Morgenträume flogen
Die Wolken in dem Rund;

Und alles war so munter,
Und alles schwamm in Glück,
Nur in sein Herz hinunter
Sah nicht der Freude Blick.

Ach, dumpfes Grabgeläute
Im Dorfe nun erklang,
Schon tönte aus der Weite
Ein klagender Gesang;

Sah nun die Lichter [scheinen]1,
Den schwarzen Leichenzug,
Fing bitter an zu [weinen]2,
Weil man sein Röschen trug.

Jetzt ließ den Sarg man nieder,
Der Totengräber kam,
Und gab der Erde wieder,
Was Gott aus selber nahm.

Da schwieg des Jünglings Klage,
Und betend ward sein Blick,
Sah schon am schönern Tage
Des Wiedersehens Glück.

Und wie die Sterne kamen,
Der Mond heraufgeschifft,
[Da las]3 er in den Sternen
Der Hoffnung hohe Schrift.

View original text (without footnotes)

Note: Schubert received Hüttenbrenner's poem in handwritten form. It has not been published independently from Schubert's song.

¹ Schubert (autograph of first draft): "schimmern"
² Schubert (autograph of first draft): "wimmern"
³ Schubert (autograph of first draft): "Las still"

Text Authorship:

• by Heinrich Hüttenbrenner (1799 - 1830) [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel", op. 8 (Vier Lieder) no. 1, D 702 (1820), published 1822, first performed 1821 [ voice, piano ], Cappi und Diabelli, VN 872, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El jovencell al tossal", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De jongeman op de heuvel", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The youth on the hill", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le jeune homme sur la colline", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , "Ógánach ar an gcnocán", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Antonio Zencovich) , "Il giovinetto sulla collina", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 160

A youth sat on a hill
with his grief;
and soon his eyes grew
dark and moist with tears.

He watched happy lambs playing
on the green cliff-side,
the happy brook streaming
along the colorful valley...

...the butterflies sipping 
at the red mouths of flowers,
and, like morning dreams, 
clouds flying about.

And all was so cheerful,
and everything floated in happiness;
only in his heart
nothing could be seen of joy.

Alas, the muffled death-knell
now tolled in the village,
and already in the distance
there echoed a lamenting song;

Now he saw lights shining,
and the black cortège.
 He began to weep bitterly,
for they were bringing his Rosie.

Now they lowered the coffin;
the grave-digger arrived,
and gave back to the earth
what God had taken from it.

Then the youth silenced his lament,
and his gaze grew reverential;
already he could see that lovely day
of reunion's joy.

And as the stars came out
and the moon sailed up,
he read in the stars
a lofty message of hope.