Dort unten in der Mühle
Saß ich in [süßer]1 Ruh'
Und sah dem Räderspiele
Und sah [den Wassern]2 zu.

Sah zu der blanken Säge,
Es war mir wie ein Traum,
Die bahnte lange Wege
In [einen]3 Tannenbaum.

Die Tanne war wie lebend,
In Trauermelodie
Durch alle Fasern bebend
[Sang]4 diese Worte sie:

Du [kehrst]5 zur rechten Stunde,
O Wanderer, hier ein,
Du bist's, für den die Wunde
Mir dringt ins Herz hinein!

Du bist's, für den wird werden,
Wenn kurz gewandert du,
Dies Holz im Schoß der Erden
Ein Schrein zur [langen]6 Ruh'.

Vier Bretter sah ich fallen,
Mir [ward's]7 ums [Herze]8 schwer,
Ein Wörtlein wollt' ich lallen,
Da ging das Rad nicht mehr.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Heinemann, Schumann, Wienand, Winterberger: "guter"
² Proch: "den Wässern"; Schumann, Winterberger: "dem Wasser"
³ Schumann: "einem"
⁴ Proch: "Sprach"
⁵ Schumann: "trittst"
⁶ Platz: "ew'gen"
⁷ Proch: "war"; Schneider, Schumann, Wienand: "ward"
⁸ Proch, Wienand: "Herz so"

Text Authorship:

• by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Der Wanderer in der Sägmühle", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte [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 Algernon Bennet Langton Ashton (1859 - 1937), "Der Wanderer in der Sägemühle", op. 104 (Zwei Gesänge für 1 tiefe Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1898 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Hofbauer [sung text not yet checked]
• by Friedrich Glück (1793 - 1840), "Der Wandrer in der Sägmühle" [ duet for 2 voices a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Wilhelm Heinemann , "Dort unten in der Mühle", op. 23 (Vier Männerchöre im Volkston) no. 3, published 1921 [ men's chorus ], Leipzig: Verlag von F. E. C. Leuckart [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Armin Knab (1881 - 1951), "Der Wandrer in der Sägemühle", from Drei Lieder nach Justinus Kerner, no. 2, note: [sic] for the title [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Carl Ferdinand Konradin (1833 - 1884), "In der Sägemühle", op. 36 (Lieder für 1 Alt- oder Baritonstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1875 [ alto or baritone and piano ], Wien, Bösendorfer [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Platz , "Der Wandrer in der Saegmühle", published 1900, from Hundert Lieder, no. 17 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Heinrich Proch (1809 - 1878), "Der Wanderer an der Sägemühle", op. 25 no. 1, published 1837 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Diabelli und Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Benedikt Randhartinger (1802 - 1893), "Der Wanderer in der Sägemühle" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Christian Immo Schneider (b. 1935), "Der Wanderer in der Sägmühle", 1984, unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Clara Schumann (1819 - 1896), "Der Wanderer in der Sägemühle", note: [sic] for the title [sung text checked 1 time]
• by (Johann Gottlob) Friedrich Wieck (1785 - 1873), "Der Wanderer in der Sägemühle", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ernst Volkmar Wienand , "Der Wandrer in der Sägemühle", op. 17 (Zehn zweistimmige Lieder für die Jugend) no. 2 [ duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Der Wandrer in der Sägemühle", op. 91 (Dreissig Lieder und Gesänge) no. 23, published 1885 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Schuberth & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , "The wanderer in the sawmill", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le voyageur à la scierie", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 122

 Down yonder in the sawmill
 I sat in good repose
 and saw the wheels go spinning
 and watched the water too.

 I saw the shiny saw blade,
 as if I had a dream,
 which carved a lengthy furrow
 into a fir tree trunk.

 The fir tree as if living,
 in saddest melody,
 through all its trembling fibers
 sang out these words for me:

 At just the proper hour,
 o wanderer! you come,
 it's you for whom this wounding
 invades my heart inside.

 It's you, for whom soon will be,
 when wanderings cut short,
 these boards in earth's deep bosom,
 a box for lengthy rest.

 Four boards I then saw falling,
 my heart was turned to stone,
 one word I would have stammered,
 the blade went 'round no more.