Songs

Denk’ es, o Seele!

by Hugo Wolf From Mörike-Lieder

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This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.

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Text & Translation

View IPA

Denk’ es, o Seele!
German source: Eduard Mörike

Ein Tännlein grünet wo,
Wer weiss, im Walde,
Ein Rosenstrauch, wer sagt,
In welchem Garten?
Sie sind erlesen schon,
Denk es, o Seele,
Auf deinem Grab zu wurzeln
Und zu wachsen.

Zwei schwarze Rösslein weiden
Auf der Wiese,
Sie kehren heim zur Stadt
In muntern Sprüngen.
Sie werden schrittweis gehn
Mit deiner Leiche;
Vielleicht, vielleicht noch eh
An ihren Hufen
Das Eisen los wird,
Das ich blitzen sehe.

O Soul, Remember!
English translation © Richard Stokes

A young fir is growing, where,
Who knows, in the wood?
A rosebush, who can say,
In what garden?
Already they are pre-ordained,
O soul, remember,
To root and grow
On your grave.

Two black colts are grazing
On the field,
Homewards at a merry pace
They return to the town.
At a walking pace they’ll go
With your corpse;
Perhaps, perhaps even before
Their hooves
Will lose the shoes
That I see flashing.

Denk’ es, o Seele!
German source: Eduard Mörike

O Soul, Remember!
English source: Richard Stokes

Ein Tännlein grünet wo,
A young fir is growing, where,
Wer weiss, im Walde,
Who knows, in the wood?
Ein Rosenstrauch, wer sagt,
A rosebush, who can say,
In welchem Garten?
In what garden?
Sie sind erlesen schon,
Already they are pre-ordained,
Denk es, o Seele,
O soul, remember,
Auf deinem Grab zu wurzeln
To root and grow
Und zu wachsen.
On your grave.

Zwei schwarze Rösslein weiden
Two black colts are grazing
Auf der Wiese,
On the field,
Sie kehren heim zur Stadt
Homewards at a merry pace
In muntern Sprüngen.
They return to the town.
Sie werden schrittweis gehn
At a walking pace they’ll go
Mit deiner Leiche;
With your corpse;
Vielleicht, vielleicht noch eh
Perhaps, perhaps even before
An ihren Hufen
Their hooves
Das Eisen los wird,
Will lose the shoes
Das ich blitzen sehe.
That I see flashing.

Composer

Hugo Wolf

Hugo Filipp Jakob Wolf was born on 13 March 1860, the fourth of six surviving children, in Windischgraz, Styria, then part of the Austrian Empire. He was taught the piano and violin by his father at an early age and continued to study piano at the…

Poet

Eduard Mörike

Eduard Friedrich Mörike was a German Romantic poet. Mörike was born in Ludwigsburg. His father was Karl Friedrich Mörike (d. 1817), a district medical councilor; his mother was Charlotte Bayer. He attended the Latin school at Ludwigsburg, and the…

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