Freisinn
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Bleibt in euren Hütten, euren Zelten!
Und ich reite froh in alle Ferne,
Über meiner Mütze nur die Sterne.
Er hat euch die Gestirne gesetzt
Als Leiter zu Land und See;
Damit ihr euch daran ergötzt,
Stets blickend in die Höh.
Free Spirit
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Stay in your huts and your tents!
And I’ll ride happily far away,
With only the stars above me.
He has set the constellations
To guide you over land and sea,
That you may delight in them,
As you gaze forever aloft.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Freisinn
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Free Spirit
English source:
Richard Stokes
Lasst mich nur auf meinem Sattel gelten!
Let me hold sway in the saddle!
Bleibt in euren Hütten, euren Zelten!
Stay in your huts and your tents!
Und ich reite froh in alle Ferne,
And I’ll ride happily far away,
Über meiner Mütze nur die Sterne.
With only the stars above me.
Er hat euch die Gestirne gesetzt
He has set the constellations
Als Leiter zu Land und See;
To guide you over land and sea,
Damit ihr euch daran ergötzt,
That you may delight in them,
Stets blickend in die Höh.
As you gaze forever aloft.
Composer
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured…
Poet
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on…