When I now for the first time

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Als ich nun zum ersten Male

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

  Als ich nun zum ersten Male
Wieder durch den Garten ging,
Busch und Bächlein in dem Thale
Lustig an zu plaudern fing.

  Blumen halbverstohlen blickten
Neckend aus dem Gras heraus,
Bunte Schmetterlinge schickten
Sie sogleich auf Kundschaft aus.

  Auch der Kuckuck in den Zweigen
Fand sich bald zum Spielen ein,
Endlich brach der Baum das Schweigen:
"Warum kommst du heut allein?"

  Da ich aber schwieg, da rührt' er
Wunderbar sein dunkles Haupt,
Und ein Flüstern konnt' ich spüren
Zwischen Vöglein, Blüth' und Laub.

  Thränen in dem Grase hingen,
Durch die abendstille Rund
Klagend nun die Quellen gingen,
Und ich weint' aus Herzensgrund.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Joseph Freiherrn von Eichendorff's Werke. Erster Theil. Gedichte. Berlin: M. Simion, 1841, pages 319 to 320.

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 5. Totenopfer, in Auf meines Kindes Tod, no. 2 [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 Felix (August Bernhard) Draeseke (1835 - 1913), "Auf meines Kindes Tod I", op. 24 no. 3, published 1884 [ voice and piano ], from Trauer und Trost. Sechs Gesänge, no. 3, Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , no title, copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-07-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 103

When I now for the first time

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  When I now for the first time
Again walked through the garden,
Bushes and streamlets in the valley
Merrily began to prattle.

  Flowers half-furtively peeked
Teasingly out from the grass,
They immediately sent out colourful butterflies
To see what was up.

  Also the cuckoo in the branches
Soon turned up to play,
Finally the tree broke the silence:
"Why do you come alone today?"

  But when I remained silent, [the tree]
Moved its dark head wondrously,
And I could discern a whispering
Between the birds, the blossoms and the leaves.

  Tears hung in the grass,
Through the circle of evening quietness
The wellsprings lamented,
And I wept from the depths of my heart.

About the headline (FAQ)

Number 2. of Auf meines Kindes Tod

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 5. Totenopfer, in Auf meines Kindes Tod, no. 2
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 114