Alinda
(Poet's title: Alinde)
Set by Schubert:
D 904
[January 1827]
Die Sonne sinkt ins tiefe Meer,
Da wollte sie kommen.
Geruhig trabt der Schnitter einher,
Mir ist’s beklommen.
Hast, Schnitter, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn?
Alinde! Alinde!
»Zu Weib und Kindern muss ich gehn,
Kann nicht nach andern Dirnen sehn;
Sie warten mein unter der Linde.«
Der Mond betritt die Himmelsbahn,
Noch will sie nicht kommen.
Dort legt der Fischer das Fahrzeug an,
Mir ist’s beklommen.
Hast, Fischer, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn?
Alinde! Alinde!
»Muss suchen, wie mir die Reusen stehn,
Hab’ nimmer Zeit nach Jungfern zu gehn,
Schau, welch einen Fang ich finde.«
Die lichten Sterne ziehn herauf,
Noch will sie nicht kommen.
Dort eilt der Jäger in rüstigem Lauf,
Mir ist’s beklommen.
Hast, Jäger, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn?
Alinde! Alinde!
»Muss nach dem bräunlichen Rehbock gehn,
Hab nimmer Lust nach Mädeln zu sehn;
Dort schleicht er im Abendwinde.«
In schwarzer Nacht steht hier der Hain,
Noch will sie nicht kommen.
Von allem Lebend’gen irr ich allein
Bang und beklommen.
Dir, Echo, darf ich mein Leid gestehn:
Alinde! »Alinde«,
Ließ Echo leise herüberwehn;
Da sah ich sie mir zur Seite stehn:
»Du suchtest so treu, nun finde.«
The sun is setting into the deep sea,
She was going to come here.
A harvester calmly trots along,
I feel apprehensive.
Harvester, have you not seen my beloved?
Alinda! Alinda!
“I have to go to my wife and children,
I can’t be looking for other lasses;
They are waiting for me under the lime tree.”
The moon has set off on its course across the sky,
Yet she still has not come.
Over there the fisherman is mooring his boat,
I feel apprehensive.
Fisherman, have you not seen my beloved?
Alinda! Alinda!
“I have to check how my fish traps are doing,
I never have time to go looking for virgins.
Look at this, what a catch I have found!”
The bright stars are rising up,
Yet still she has not come.
That huntsman over there is hurrying at a determined pace:
I feel apprehensive.
Huntsman, have you not seen my beloved?
Alinda! Alinda!
“I have to follow the brown roebuck,
I never feel like looking at girls:
I can see him creeping there in the evening breeze!”
This grove is standing here in the black night;
Yet she still has not come.
I am wandering around on my own far from all living things
Anxious and apprehensive.
Echo, I can confess my suffering to you:
Alinda! “Alinda,”
Echo allowed the sound to waft gently towards me;
Then I saw her standing next to me:
“You have been searching so faithfully: now find!”
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.
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Themes and images in this text:
Black Boats Brown Echo Evening and the setting sun Fish and fishing Harvest Hunters and hunting Lime trees (Lindenbaum) Lost and found Night and the moon The sea Stars Wind Woods – groves and clumps of trees (Hain)
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.”
Matthew 7:7 King James Bible
Rochlitz has set himself a poetic challenge here. He wants to present a search / quest story that climaxes in the word ‘find’. There has to be an element of mystery or spiritual depth, and so the moment of discovery has to be the moment of greatest darkness (and the scene has to be set carefully to present the gradual move from sunset to ‘black night’, reflecting the increasing inner anxiety of the speaker). Changing levels of anxiety are going to be conveyed by careful use of repetition. Central to everything is the effect of rhyme.
The last word is going to be ‘finde’, which needs to be both totally predictable and a revelation at the same time. This is achieved by means of an echo. The -inde sound that has recurred so frequently (Alinde, Linde, finde, Winde) somehow sounds different when it is heard as an echo here in the woods at night. The name ‘Alinde’ for the first time manages to invoke the presence of the beloved Alinde.
The progression from sunset, through moonrise and starlight towards ‘black night’ is reflected on earth in a series of encounters with workers who represent increasingly ‘primitive’ modes of survival. We begin in a conventional agricultural society, embodied in a harvester at the end of a day reaping corn. His life revolves around a nuclear family based in a village, dominated by that typical symbol of German ‘Heimat’ – the Linden tree. Before agriculture, there were hunter gatherers, a fisherman being a classic ‘gatherer’. He and the huntsman chasing the roebuck have no interest in the poet’s quest. We need to go beyond human society and activity completely, into the primeval woods at night before Alinde can appear. She does not belong in the world of day, or the world of human activity and concerns. Everything external has to be stripped away before she will respond to her name.
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Original Spelling and note on the text Alinde Die Sonne sinkt ins tiefe Meer, Da wollte sie kommen. Geruhig trabt der Schnitter einher, Mir ist's beklommen. Hast, Schnitter, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn? Alinde! Alinde! - »Zu Weib und Kindern muß1 ich gehn, Kann nicht nach andern Dirnen sehn; Sie warten mein unter der Linde.« - Der Mond betritt die Himmelsbahn, Noch will sie nicht kommen. Dort legt der Fischer das Fahrzeug an, Mir ist's beklommen. Hast, Fischer, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn? Alinde! Alinde! - »Muß suchen, wie mir die Reußen stehn, Hab' nimmer Zeit nach Jungfern zu gehn. Schau, welch einen Fang ich finde!« Die lichten Sterne ziehn herauf, Noch will sie nicht kommen. Dort eilt der Jäger in rüstigem Lauf: Mir ist's beklommen. Hast, Jäger, mein Liebchen nicht gesehn? Alinde! Alinde! - »Muß nach dem bräunlichen Rehbock gehn, Hab nimmer Lust nach Mädeln zu sehn: Dort schleicht er im Abendwinde!« - In schwarzer Nacht steht hier der Hain; Noch will sie nicht kommen. Von allem Lebendgen irr' ich allein Bang' und beklommen. Dir, Echo, darf ich mein Leid gestehn: Alinde - »Alinde,« Ließ Echo leise herüberwehn; Da sah' ich sie mir zur Seite stehn: »Du suchtest so treu: nun finde!« - 1 Schubert changed 'will ich gehn' (I am going) to 'muß ich gehn' (I have to go)
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s source, Auswahl des Besten aus Friedrich Rochlitz’ sämmtlichen Schriften Vom Verfasser veranstaltet, verbessert und herausgegeben. In sechs Bänden. Vierter Band. Züllichau, in der Darnmannschen Buchhandlung. 1822, pages 153-154; and with Glycine von Friedrich Rochlitz. Erster Theil. Züllichau und Freystadt bey Darnmann 1805, pages 223-224.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 153 [Erstes Bild 165] here: BSB (Opp. 549 e-4): https://download.digitale-sammlungen.de/BOOKS/download.pl?id=bsb10604515