Vier trübe Monden sind entflohn,
Seit ich getrauert habe;
Der falbe Wermut grünet schon
An meiner Freundin Grabe.
Da horch' ich oft im Mondenglanz
Der Grillen Nachtgesange,
Und lehn' an ihren Totenkranz
Die bleichgehärmte Wange.

  Da sitz' ich, armes armes Kind,
Im kalten Abendhauche;
Und manche Sehnsuchtsthräne rinnt
Am falben Wermutsstrauche.
Der Flieder und die Linde wehn
Mir bange Seelenschauer,
Und hohe düstre Schatten gehn
Rings an der Kirchhofmauer.

  Die Kirchenfenster regen sich,
Es regen sich die [Klocken]1;
Es glänzt! es glänzt! Ach! seh' ich dich
Mit deinen hellen Locken?
Der Mond ists, so [der Wolk entrollt]2,
Ins Kirchenfenster [schimmert,
Am rothen Band', am Flittergold
Der Todtenkränze flimmert!]3

  O komm zurück! o komm zurück
Von deines Gottes Throne!
O komm auf einen Augenblick
In deiner Siegerkrone!
In deinem neuen Engelreiz
Erscheine mir, erscheine,
Die ich, gelehnt ans schwarze Kreuz,
Auf deinem Grabe weine!

F. Mendelssohn sets stanzas 1-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Christian Ludwig Heinrich Hölty's sämtlich hinterlaßne Gedichte, zweyte, verbesserte Auflage, Halle: Bey Johann Christian Hendel, 1800, pages 88-90.

¹ Mendelssohn: "Glocken"
² Mendelssohn: "die Wolken teilt"
³ Mendelssohn: "scheinet./ O täusch' mich nicht, o komm' zurück/ Zu mir, die einsam weinet."

Text Authorship:

• by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776), "Lied eines Mädchens, auf den Tod ihrer Gespielin" [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 Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "An ihrem Grabe", stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Juliane Reichardt, née Benda (1752 - 1783), "Lied eines Mädchens (auf den Tod ihrer Gespielin)" [ voice and piano ], as Juliane Benda [sung text not yet checked]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Song of a maiden, upon the death of her playmates", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-07-28
Line count: 32
Word count: 143

  Four dreary moons have passed away
Since I have been mourning,
The dun-coloured wormwood is already turning green
Upon the grave of my friend.
There in the moonlight I often listen
To the night song of the crickets,
And lean my grief-bleached cheek
Against her funeral wreath.

  There I sit, a poor, poor child,
In the cold breeze of evening;
And many a tear of longing flows
At the dun-coloured wormwood bush.
The lilac and the lime tree blow
Anxious chills into my soul,
And tall, dismal shadows flit
Around the wall of the churchyard.

  The church windows tremble,
The bells stir;
It shines, it shines!  Ah, do I see you
With your bright curls?
It is the moon [that, emerged from the cloud,
Shimmers into the church windows,
And flickers along the red ribbon,
Along the gilding of the funeral wreaths!]1

  Oh come back! oh come back
From the throne of your God!
Oh come just for a moment
In your victory crown!
In your new angelic charm
Appear to me, appear,
To me who, leaning against the black cross,
Weeps at your grave!