Winterreise

1. Good Night

I came here a stranger,

As a stranger I depart.

May favored me

With 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 way

In this darkness.

A shadow of the moon travels

With me as my companion,

And upon the white fields

I seek the deers track.

Why should I stay here any longer

So that people 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.

2. The Weathervane

The wind plays the weathervane,

On my lovely darling's house.

And I thought in my delusion,

That 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.

3. 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 cold 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!

4. 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 the green grass?

The flowers are all dead,

The turf is so pale.

Shall then no memento

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 melt away, too!

5. 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 depths of night.

And its branches rustled,

As if they called me:

Come 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!

6. Flood Water

Many a tear from my eyes

Has falling 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 will 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 recive you.

You will flow through towns with it,

In and out of the busy streets;

When you feel my tears burning,

There is my sweetheart's house.

7. 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 figuares 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?

(Unfinshed.)