Dry flowers
(Poet's title: Trockne Blumen)
Set by Schubert:
D 795/18
[October-November 1823]
Part of Die schöne Müllerin, D 795
Ihr Blümlein alle,
Die sie mir gab,
Euch soll man legen
Mit mir ins Grab.
Wie seht ihr alle
Mich an so weh,
Als ob ihr wüsstet,
Wie mir gescheh?
Ihr Blümlein alle,
Wie welk, wie blass?
Ihr Blümlein alle,
Wovon so nass?
Ach Tränen machen
Nicht maiengrün,
Machen tote Liebe
Nicht wieder blühn,
Und Lenz wird kommen,
Und Winter wird gehn,
Und Blümlein werden
Im Grase stehn,
Und Blümlein liegen
In meinem Grab,
Die Blümlein alle,
Die sie mir gab!
Und wenn sie wandelt
Am Hügel vorbei
Und denkt im Herzen,
Der meint’ es treu!
Dann Blümlein alle,
Heraus, heraus,
Der Mai ist kommen,
Der Winter ist aus.
All you little flowers
That she gave me,
You ought to be laid
With me in my grave.
How you are all looking
At me so sorrowfully,
As if you knew
How things were going for me.
All you little flowers,
How withered, how pale.
All you little flowers
How have you become so wet?
Oh, tears do not make
Things as green as May,
Dead love does not make
Things bloom again.
And spring will come,
And winter will go,
And little flowers will
Appear in the grass,
And little flowers lie
In my grave,
All those little flowers
That she gave me.
And when she walks
Past my mound,
And thinks in her heart:
“That was someone with a faithful intention!”
Then all little flowers,
Come out, come out!
May has arrived,
Winter is over.
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:
Fading and losing colour Flowers Grass Graves and burials Green Hearts May Mills Spring (season) Tears and crying Wet and dry Winter
Flowers are eyes throughout Die schöne Müllerin. The forget-me-nots the young man planted were intended to keep an eye on the miller girl’s window. Dew-covered flowers are seen as tearful eyes. Even here in the grave, the faded flowers somehow keep watch on him.
The lad’s own eyes well up with tears again, but he acknowledges that this watering will not revive the flowers that she gave him. THEY are totally withered and faded; there is no reviving THEM. Similarly his own hopes cannot be revived. The only thing to hope for is that a day will come (too late) when she acknowledges his devotion. At that point spring will return and new flowers will grow.
Müller is here echoing a long poetic tradition in which pious writers have written about burial as a precursor to resurrection. The body being buried is often presented as a seed that will eventually germinate and produce new growth. However, the miller boy can barely see any such future for himself. Even when May returns and new flowers appear, the little flowers that she gave him will remain faded and rotten in the grave. After all, they never had a chance to produce seed.
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Original Spelling Trockne Blumen Ihr Blümlein alle, Die sie mir gab, Euch soll man legen Mit mir in's Grab. Wie seht ihr alle Mich an so weh, Als ob ihr wüßtet, Wie mir gescheh'? Ihr Blümlein alle, Wie welk, wie blaß? Ihr Blümlein alle, Wovon so naß? Ach, Thränen machen Nicht maiengrün, Machen todte Liebe Nicht wieder blühn. Und Lenz wird kommen, Und Winter wird gehn, Und Blümlein werden Im Grase stehn, Und Blümlein liegen In meinem Grab, Die Blümlein alle, Die sie mir gab. Und wenn sie wandelt Am Hügel vorbei, Und denkt im Herzen: D e r meint' es treu! Dann Blümlein alle, Heraus, heraus! Der Mai ist kommen, Der Winter ist aus.
Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Erstes Bändchen. Zweite Auflage. Deßau 1826. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 41-42; and with Sieben und siebzig Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Dessau, 1821. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 43-44.
First published in a slightly different version in Der Gesellschafter oder Blätter für Geist und Herz. Herausgegeben von F. W. Gubitz. Zweiter Jahrgang. Berlin, 1818. In der Maurerschen Buchhandlung. Sonnabend den 6. Juni. 90stes Blatt, page 357.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 43 Erstes Bild 53 here: https://download.digitale-sammlungen.de/BOOKS/download.pl?id=bsb10115224