Schubert: Winterreise (Winter Journey)

Good Night

I came here a stranger,

As a stranger I depart.

May favored me

With many a bunch of flowers.

The girl spoke of love,

Her mother even of marriage -

Now the world is so gloomy,

The road shrouded in snow.

I cannot choose the time

To begin my journey,

Must find my own way

In this darkness.

A shadow of the moon travels

With me as my companion,

And upon the white fields

I seek the deer's track.

Why should I stay here any longer

So that people can drive me away ?

Let stray dogs howl

In front of their master's house;

Love loves to wander -

God made it that way -

From one to the other,

My dearest, good night !

I don't want to disturb your dreaming,

It would be a shame to wake you.

You won't hear my step,

Softly, softly the door closes !

I write in passing

On your gate: Good night,

So that you may see

That I thought of you.


The Weathervane

The wind plays with the weathervane

On my lovely darling's house.

And I thought in my delusion,

That it mocked the poor fugitive.

He should have noticed sooner

The symbol displayed on the house,

So he wouldn't ever have expected

To find a faithful woman within.

The wind plays with the hearts inside

As it does on the roof, only not so loudly.

Why should they care about my grief ?

Their child is a rich bride.


Frozen Tears

Frozen drops are falling

Down from my cheeks.

How could I have not noticed

That I have been weeping ?

Ah tears, my tears,

And are you so tepid

That you freeze to ice

Like cool morning dew ?

Yet you burst from the wellspring

Of my heart so burning hot,

As if you wanted to melt

The entire winter's ice !


Numbness

I search the snow in vain

For the trace of her steps.

Where she, arm in arm with me,

Crossed the green meadow.

I want to kiss the ground,

Penetrate ice and snow

With my hot tears,

Until I see the soil.

Where will I find a blossom,

Where will I find green grass ?

The flowers are all dead,

The turf is so pale.

Shall then no momento

Accompany me from here ?

When my pains cease,

Who will tell me of her then ?

My heart is as if dead,

Her image frozen cold within;

If my heart ever thaws again,

Her image will also melt away !


The Linden Tree

At the well by the gate

There stands a linden tree;

I dreamed in its shadow

Many a sweet dream.

I carved in its bark

Many a word of love;

In joy and in sorrow

I was always drawn to it.

Again today I had to travel

Past it in the depths of night.

There even in the darkness

I closed my eyes.

And its branches rustled,

As if they called to me:

Come here to me, friend,

Here you'll find peace !

The cold winds blew

Right into my face;

The hat flew off my head,

I didn't turn around.

Now I am many hours

Distant from that place,

And I still hear it whispering:

You'd find peace here !


Flood Water


Many a tear from my eyes

Has fallen in the snow;

Its cold flakes absorb

Thirstily the burning woe.

When it's time for the grass to sprout

There blows a mild wind,

And the ice will break apart

And the soft snow melt away.

Snow, you know about my longing,

Tell me, where does your course lead ?

If you just follow my tears,

The brook will soon receive you.

You will flow through the town with it,

In and out of the busy streets;

When you feel my tears burning,

There is my sweetheart's house.


On the River

You who thundered so cheerfully,

You clear, untamed river,

How quiet you have become,

Give no word of farewell.

With a hard stiff crust

You have covered yourself,

Lie cold and unmoving,

Outstretched in the sand.

In your covering I inscribe

With a sharp stone

The name of my sweetheart

And the hour and day, as well.

The day of the first greeting,

The day on which I left;

Around name and figures winds

A broken ring.

My heart, in this stream

Do you now recognize your image ?

And under its crust

Is there also a raging torrent ?


A Look Backward


It burns under both my feet,

Even though I walk on ice and snow;

I don't want to catch my breath

Until I can no longer see the spires.

I tripped on every stone,

As I hurried out of the town;

The crows hurled chunks of snow and ice

On my hat from every house.

How differently you received me,

You town of inconstancy !

At your sparkling windows sang

The lark and nightingale in competition.

The bushy linden trees bloomed,

The clear streams murmured brightly,

And, oh, two maiden's eyes glowed -

Your fate was sealed, my boy !

Whenever that day enters my thoughts,

I want to look back once more,

I want to turn back again

And stand still before her house.


Will o' the Wisp


Into the deepest mountain chasms

A will o' the wisp lured me;

How to find a way out

Doesn't worry me much.

I'm used to going astray,

And every way leads to the goal.

Our joys, our sorrows,

Are all a will o' the wisp's game !

Through the mountain stream's dry channel

I wend my way calmly downward.

Every river finds its way to the ocean,

And every sorrow to its grave.


Rest


Now I first notice how tired I am

As I lay myself down to rest;

Walking kept me going strong

On the inhospitable road.

My feet didn't ask for rest,

It was too cold to stand still,

My back felt no burden,

The storm helped to blow me onward.

In a charcoal-burner's tiny house

I have found shelter;

But my limbs won't relax,

Their hurts burn so much.

You, too, my heart, in strife and storm

So wild and so bold,

Feel first in the silence your serpent

Stir with burning sting !


Dream of Spring


I dreamed of many-colored flowers,

The way they bloom in May;

I dreamed of green meadows,

Of merry bird calls.

And when the roosters crowed,

My eye awakened;

It was cold and dark,

The ravens shrieked on the roof.

But on the window panes -

Who painted the leaves there ?

I suppose you'll laugh at the dreamer

Who saw flowers in winter ?

I dreamed of love reciprocated,

Of a beautiful maiden,

Of embracing and kissing,

Of joy and delight.

And when the roosters crowed,

My heart awakened;

Now I sit here alone

And reflect on the dream.

I close my eyes again,

My heart still beats so warmly.

When will you leaves on the window turn green ?

When will I hold my love in my arms ?


Solitude


As a dreary cloud

Moves through the clear sky,

When in the crown of the fir tree

A faint breeze blows,

So I travel my road

Onward with sluggish feet,

Through bright, happy life,

Lonely and unrecognized.

Oh, that the air should be so still !

Oh, that the world should be so light !

When the storms still raged,

I was not so miserable.


The Post


From the highroad a posthorn sounds.

Why do you leap so high,

My heart ?

The post does not bring a letter for you,

Why the strange compulsion,

My heart ?

Of course, the post comes from the town,

Where I once had a dear sweetheart,

My heart !

Would you like to take a look over there,

And ask how things are going,

My heart ?


The Old-Man's Head


The frost has spread a white sheen

All over my hair;

I thought I had become an old man

And was very pleased about it.

But soon it melted away,

And now I have black hair again

So that I am horrified by my youth -

How long still to the grave !

From the sunset to the dawn

Many a head turns white.

Who can believe it ? And mine

Has not on this whole journey !


The Crow


A crow has accompanied me

Since I left the town,

Until today, as ever,

It has circled over my head.

Crow, you strange creature,

Won't you ever leave me ?

Do you plan soon as booty

To have my carcase ?

Well, I won't be much longer

Wandering on the road.

Crow, let me finally see

Loyalty unto the grave !


Last Hope


Here and there on the trees

There's a colored leaf to be seen.

And I stop in front of the trees

Often, lost in thought.

I watch a particular leaf

And pin my hopes on it;

If the wind plays with my leaf

I tremble from head to foot.

Oh, and if the leaf falls to earth,

My hopes fall along with it.

I fall to earth as well

And weep on the grave of my hopes.


In the Village


The dogs are barking, the chains are rattling;

The people are sleeping in their beds,

Dreaming of things they don't have,

Refreshing themselves in good and bad.

And in the morning all will have vanished.

Oh well, they had their share of pleasure

And hope that what they missed

Can be found again on their pillows.

Drive me out with your barking, you vigilant dogs,

Don't let me rest when it's time for slumber.

I am finished with all my dreams.

Why should I linger among the sleepers ?


The Stormy Morning


How the storm has torn asunder

The heavens' grey cover !

The cloud tatters flutter

Around in weary strife.

And fiery red flames

Dart around among them;

That's what I call a morning

That really fits my mood !

My heart sees in the heavens

Its own image painted -

It's nothing but the winter,

Winter cold and wild !


Illusion


A light does a friendly dance before me,

I follow it here and there;

I like to follow it and watch

The way it lures the wanderer.

Ah, a man as wretched as I am

Is glad to fall for the merry trick

That, beyond ice and night and fear,

Shows him a bright, warm house.

And a loving soul within -

Only illusion lets me win !


The Sign Post


Why then do I avoid the highways

Where the other travelers go,

Search out the hidden pathways

Through the snowy mountain tops ?

I've committed no crime

That I should hide from other men -

What is the foolish compulsion

That drives me into desolation ?

Signposts stand along the highways

Pointing to the cities,

And I wander ever further

Without rest and look for rest.

Before me I see a signpost standing

Fixed before my gaze.

I must travel a road

From which no one ever returned.


The Inn


My way has led me to a graveyard;

Here I'll stop, I told myself.

You green mourning garlands must be the sign

That invites weary travelers into the cool inn.

What, all the rooms in this house are full ?

I'm tired enough to drop, have taken mortal hurt.

Oh, merciless inn, you turn me away ?

Well, onward then, still further, my loyal walking staff !


Courage


If the snow flies in my face,

I shake it off again.

When my heart speaks in my breast,

I sing loudly and gaily.

I don't hear what it says to me,

I have no ears to listen;

I don't feel when it laments,

Complaining is for fools.

Happy through the world along

Facing wind and weather !

If there's no God upon the earth,

Then we ourselves are Gods !


The False Suns


I saw three suns in the sky,

Stared at them hard for a long time;

And they stayed there so stubbornly

That it seemed they didn't want to leave me.

Ah, you are not my suns !

Go, look into someone else's face !

Yes, recently I, too, had three

But now the best two have gone down.

If only the third would also set !

I will feel better in the dark.


The Hurdy-Gurdy Man


Over there beyond the village

Stands an organ-grinder,

And with numb fingers

He plays as best he can.

Barefoot on the ice,

He totters here and there,

And his little plate

Is always empty.

No one listens to him,

No one notices him,

And the dogs grow
l
Around the old man.

And he just lets it happen,

As it will,

Plays, and his hurdy-gurdy

Is never still.

Strange old man,

Shall I go with you ?

Will you play your organ

To my songs ?