The pilgrim
(Poet's title: Der Pilgrim)
Set by Schubert:
D 794
[May 1823]
Noch in meines Lebens Lenze
War ich, und ich wandert’ aus,
Und der Jugend frohe Tänze
Ließ ich in des Vaters Haus.
All mein Erbtheil, meine Habe
Warf ich fröhlich glaubend hin,
Und am leichten Pilgerstabe
Zog ich fort mit Kindersinn.
Denn mich trieb ein mächtig Hoffen
Und ein dunkles Glaubenswort,
Wandle, rief’s, der Weg ist offen,
Immer nach dem Aufgang fort.
Bis zu einer goldnen Pforten
Du gelangst, da gehst du ein,
Denn das Irdische wird dorten
Ewig unvergänglich sein.
Abend ward’s und wurde Morgen,
Nimmer, nimmer stand ich still,
Aber immer blieb’s verborgen,
Was ich suche, was ich will.
Berge lagen mir im Wege,
Ströme hemmten meinen Fuß,
Über Schlünde baut’ ich Stege,
Brücken durch den wilden Fluss.
Und zu eines Stroms Gestaden
Kam ich, der nach Morgen floss,
Froh vertrauend seinem Faden
Warf ich mich in seinen Schoß.
Hin zu einem großen Meere
Trieb mich seiner Wellen Spiel,
Vor mir liegt’s in weiter Leere,
Näher bin ich nicht dem Ziel.
Ach kein Weg will dahin führen,
Ach der Himmel über mir
Will die Erde nicht berühren,
Und das Dort ist niemals Hier.
I was still in the springtime of my life
When I set out to travel,
And the happy dances of youth –
I left them behind in my father’s house.
All of my inheritance, everything I had
I threw it away happily and trustingly,
And I took up a light pilgrim’s staff
And set off with a childlike attitude.
For I was being driven by a powerful hope
And a dark saying that encouraged faith:
Wander off, it called, the path is open,
Always leading towards the rising sun.
Until you reach a golden gate,
When you get there, go in,
Because what is earthly will there
Become eternal, immortal.
It was evening and it became morning
I never stood still, never,
But it always remained hidden,
The thing I was looking for, what I wanted.
Mountains lay in my way,
Streams hemmed in my feet,
I built footbridges across crevices,
I built bridges over the savage river.
And I came to the bank of a stream
That was flowing to the East, I came there
And happily trusting its current
I threw myself into its lap.
I was taken off to a great ocean,
The play of its waves carried me along,
Lying in front of me is a broad expanse,
I am no nearer to my goal.
Oh, no path is going to lead there,
Oh the sky above me
Is not going to touch the earth,
And ‘there’ is never ‘here’.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
☙
Themes and images in this text:
Bridges By water – river banks Dancing Doors and gates The earth East and West Evening and the setting sun Father and child Gold Heaven, the sky Here and there Hope Paths Leaping and jumping Lost and found Morning and morning songs Mountains and cliffs Pilgrims and pilgrimage Rivers (Fluß) Rivers (Strom) The sea Spring (season) Walking and wandering Walking sticks (Wanderstab) Waves – Welle Youth
Young people are still being encouraged to go on this sort of pilgrimage. They leave home, fired up with ‘wise old sayings’, often in the form of inspirational quotes or maxims such as ‘follow your dreams’ or ‘treat every obstacle as a stepping stone’. Like Schiller’s pilgrim they are urged to adopt a childlike, pure attitude that will allow them to avoid the pitfalls and temptations that lie in their way. How this differs from gullibility and naivety is never spelled out.
One of the most remarkable features of Schiller’s text is his total sympathy with the pilgrim at each stage. There is no hint of him being blamed for wasting his energy and no suggestion that he has been conned. When the pilgrim finds himself no nearer his destination at the end of the journey and he comes to realise the emptiness of the promise of the ‘golden gates’, since ‘there’ can never be ‘here’, we are not encouraged to think ‘I could have told you that’ or ‘welcome to the real world’. The tone is fully positive at every point.
This is typical of Schiller. He himself had escaped from his childhood home and spurned his inheritance in order to follow his anti-authoritarian principles. His dramas explore the tension between accepting basic social and political realities whilst maintaining the values of integrity and freedom. How else could this pilgrim have arrived at his understanding if he had not undertaken the journey?
☙
Original Spelling and notes on the text Der Pilgrim Noch in meines Lebens Lenze War ich und ich wandert' aus, Und der Jugend frohe Tänze Ließ ich in des Vaters Haus. All mein Erbtheil, meine Habe Warf ich fröhlich glaubend hin, Und am leichten Pilgerstabe Zog ich fort mit Kindersinn. Denn mich trieb ein mächtig Hoffen Und ein dunkles Glaubenswort, Wandle, riefs, der Weg ist offen, Immer nach dem Aufgang fort. Bis zu einer goldnen Pforten Du gelangst, da gehst du ein, Denn das Irdische wird dorten Ewig1 unvergänglich seyn. Abend wards und wurde Morgen, Nimmer, nimmer stand ich still, Aber immer bliebs verborgen, Was ich suche, was ich will. Berge lagen mir im Wege, Ströme hemmten meinen Fuß, Über Schlünde baut ich Stege, Brücken durch den wilden Fluß. Und zu eines Stroms Gestaden Kam ich, der nach Morgen floß, Froh vertrauend seinem Faden Warf ich mich in seinen Schooß. Hin zu einem großen Meere Trieb mich seiner Wellen Spiel, Vor mir liegts in weiter Leere, Näher bin ich nicht dem Ziel. Ach kein Weg2 will dahin führen, Ach der Himmel über mir Will die Erde nicht3 berühren, Und das Dort ist niemals Hier. 1 Schubert appears to have changed the original 'Himmlisch' (heavenly) to 'Ewig' (eternal) 2 Schubert appears to have changed 'Steg' (footbridge) to 'Weg' (path) 3 Schubert appears to have changed the original 'nie' (never) to 'nicht' (not)
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s probable source, Friedrich von Schiller’s Gedichte. Zweyter Theil. Wien, 1816. Bey Chr. Kaulfuß und C. Armbruster. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [Meisterwerke deutscher Dichter und Prosaisten. Vierzehntes Bändchen.] pages 23-24; with Gedichte von Friederich Schiller. Zweyter Theil. Leipzig, bey Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius. 1803, pages 306-308; and with Friedrich Schillers sämmtliche Werke. Zehnter Band. Enthält: Gedichte. Zweyter Theil. Wien, 1810. In Commission bey Anton Doll, pages 190-191.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 23 [31 von 422] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ157692806