Im Herbst
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Wie öd und still der Raum!
Die Bächlein nur gehn durch die Buchenhallen
Lind rauschend wie im Traum.
Und Abendglocken schallen
Fern von des Waldes Saum.
Was wollt ihr mich so wild verlocken,
Hier in der Einsamkeit?
Wie in der Heimat klingen diese Glocken
Aus stiller Kinderzeit –
Ich wende mich erschrocken,
Ach, was mich liebt, ist weit!
So brecht hervor nur, alte Lieder,
Und brecht das Herz mir ab!
Noch einmal grüß ich aus der Ferne wieder,
Was ich nur Liebes hab.
Mich aber zieht es nieder
Vor Wehmut wie ins Grab.
In autumn
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Such silence, such desolation!
Only the streams still flow through the beeches,
Gently murmuring as in dreams.
And evening bells ring out
Far beyond the forest’s edge.
Why entice me so wildly
In this solitude?
These bells sound as once in gentle childhood
In my native land –
I turn round in horror,
Ah! those who love me are far away!
So break out again, old songs,
And in doing so break my heart!
Once more I greet from afar
All those I love.
But sadness drags me down,
As though into my grave.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Im Herbst
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
In autumn
English source:
Richard Stokes
Der Wald wird falb, die Blätter fallen,
The wood turns fallow, the leaves fall,
Wie öd und still der Raum!
Such silence, such desolation!
Die Bächlein nur gehn durch die Buchenhallen
Only the streams still flow through the beeches,
Lind rauschend wie im Traum.
Gently murmuring as in dreams.
Und Abendglocken schallen
And evening bells ring out
Fern von des Waldes Saum.
Far beyond the forest’s edge.
Was wollt ihr mich so wild verlocken,
Why entice me so wildly
Hier in der Einsamkeit?
In this solitude?
Wie in der Heimat klingen diese Glocken
These bells sound as once in gentle childhood
Aus stiller Kinderzeit –
In my native land –
Ich wende mich erschrocken,
I turn round in horror,
Ach, was mich liebt, ist weit!
Ah! those who love me are far away!
So brecht hervor nur, alte Lieder,
So break out again, old songs,
Und brecht das Herz mir ab!
And in doing so break my heart!
Noch einmal grüß ich aus der Ferne wieder,
Once more I greet from afar
Was ich nur Liebes hab.
All those I love.
Mich aber zieht es nieder
But sadness drags me down,
Vor Wehmut wie ins Grab.
As though into my grave.
Composer
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
Fanny Hensel, née Mendelssohn (1805-47), was an exceptionally gifted musician whose potential was stifled by the gendered social conventions of her upper-middle-class background in mid-19th-century Berlin. She came from a wealthy and cultivated…
Poet
Joseph von Eichendorff
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism. Ever since their publication and up to the present day, some…