"Welcome and Farewell" (German: "") is a poem by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

from the collection '. It was published for the first time in 1775 in the women's magazine '.

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

set it to music as a

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

(D.767).

Origin and content

In 1770 Goethe went to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and assumedly wrote the love song in the following spring of 1771. It was written in the spirit of the ''

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

'' period for the daughter of a parson,

Friederike Brion Friederike Elisabeth BrionKarl Robert Mandelkow, Bodo Morawe: ''Goethes Briefe''. 2nd edition, vol. 1: ''Briefe der Jahre 1764–1786'' (Hamburg: Christian Wegner, 1968, p. 571. (probably 19 April 1752 – 3 April 1813) was a parson's d ...

Text

Es schlug mein Herz; geschwind zu Pferde! Es war getan fast eh gedacht; Der Abend wiegte schon die Erde, Und an den Bergen hing die Nacht. Schon stand im Nebelkleid die Eiche, Ein aufgetürmter Riese, da, Wo Finsternis aus dem Gesträuche Mit hundert schwarzen Augen sah. Der Mond von einem Wolkenhügel Sah kläglich aus dem Duft hervor, Die Winde schwangen leise Flügel, Umsausten schauerlich mein Ohr. Die Nacht schuf tausend Ungeheuer; Doch frisch und fröhlich war mein Mut: In meinen Adern welches Feuer! In meinem Herzen welche Glut! Dich sah ich, und die milde Freude Floss von dem süssen Blick auf mich; Ganz war mein Herz an deiner Seite, Und jeder Atemzug für dich. Ein rosenfarbnes Frühlingswetter Umgab das liebliche Gesicht, Und Zärtlichkeit für mich — ihr Götter! Ich hofft' es, ich verdient' es nicht! Doch ach, schon mit der Morgensonne Verengt der Abschied mir das Herz: In deinen Küssen, welche Wonne! In deinem Auge, welcher Schmerz! Ich ging, du standst und sahst zur Erden, Und sahst mir nach mit nassem Blick: Und doch, welch Glück geliebt zu werden! Und lieben, Götter, welch ein Glück! Quick throbb'd my heart: to horse! haste, haste And lo! 'twas done with speed of light; The evening soon the world embraced, And o'er the mountains hung the night. Soon stood, in robe of mist, the oak, A tow'ring giant in his size, Where darkness through the thicket broke, And glared with hundred gloomy eyes. From out a hill of clouds the moon With mournful gaze began to peer: The winds their soft wings flutter'd soon, And murmur'd in my awe-struck ear; The night a thousand monsters made, Yet fresh and joyous was my mind; What fire within my veins then play'd! What glow was in my bosom shrin'd! I saw thee, and with tender pride Felt thy sweet gaze pour joy on me; While all my heart was at thy side, And every breath I breath'd for thee. The roseate hues that spring supplies Were playing round thy features fair, And love for me—ye Deities! I hoped it, I deserved it ne'er! But, when the morning sun return'd, Departure filled with grief my heart: Within thy kiss, what rapture burn'd! But in thy look, what bitter smart! I went—thy gaze to earth first roved; Thou follow'dst me with tearful eye: And yet, what rapture to be loved! And, Gods, to love—what ecstacy! My heart beat fast, a horse! away! Quicker than thought I am astride, Earth now lulled by end of day, Night hovering on the mountainside. A robe of mist around him flung, The oak a towering giant stood, A hundred eyes of jet had sprung From darkness in the bushy wood. Atop a hill of cloud the moon Shed piteous glimmers through the mist, Softly the wind took flight, and soon With horrible wings around me hissed. Night made a thousand ghouls respire, Of what I felt, a thousandth part My mind, what a consuming fire! What a glow was in my heart! You I saw, your look replied, Your sweet felicity, my own, My heart was with you, at your side, I breathed for you, for you alone. A blush was there, as if your face A rosy hue of Spring had caught, For me-ye gods!-this tenderness! I hoped, and I deserved it not. Yet soon the morning sun was there, My heart, ah, shrank as leave I took: How rapturous your kisses were, What anguish then was in your look! I left, you stood with downcast eyes, In tears you saw me riding off: Yet, to be loved, what happiness! What happiness, ye gods, to love!

In music and film

The poem has been set to music as a

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

for voice and piano by

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

(1794),

(D 767; 1822),

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the s ...

(op. 29,3; 1922) und

Winfried Zillig Winfried Zillig (1 April 1905 – 18 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, and conductor. Zillig was born in Würzburg. After leaving school, Zillig studied law and music. One of his teachers there was Hermann Zilcher. In Vienna h ...

(1944). In the 2010 German film ''

Young Goethe in Love ''Young Goethe in Love'' (originally titled ''Goethe!'') is a 2010 German historical drama film directed by Philipp Stölzl and starring Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein, and Moritz Bleibtreu. It is a fictionalized version of the early years of the ...

'', the poem is being recited by the protagonist and its content plays a central role in the movie."''Goethe!''"
review by Wolfgang Nierlin, ''filmgazette'' (in German)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Poetry by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Lieder composed by Franz Schubert 1775 poems