Song
(Poet's title: Lied)
Set by Schubert:
D 403
[March 27, 1816]
Part of The Theresa Grob Album
Ins stille Land,
Wer leitet uns hinüber?
Schon wölkt sich uns der Abendhimmel trüber,
Und immer trümmervoller wird der Strand.
Wer leitet uns mit sanfter Hand
Hinüber, ach, hinüber
Ins stille Land.
Ins stille Land!
Zu euch, ihr freien Räume,
Für die Veredlung! zarte Morgenträume
Der schönen Seelen! künft’gen Daseyns Pfand.
Wer treu des Lebens Kampf bestand,
Trägt seiner Hoffnung Keime
Ins stille Land.
Ach Land! ach Land!
Für alle Sturmbedrohten,
Der mildeste von unsers Schicksals Boten
Winkt uns, die Fackel umgewandt,
Und leitet uns mit sanfter Hand
Ins Land der großen Toten,
Ins stille Land.
Into the quiet land!
Who is going to lead us over there?
The evening sky is already clouding over for us and looking ominous,
And the shore is also becoming increasingly bleak.
Who will take us with a gentle hand and lead us
Over there, oh, over there,
Into the quiet land?
Into the quiet land!
To you, you open spaces
Used for refinement! tender morning dreams
Of beautiful souls! pledge of our future state.
Those who remained steadfast in life’s battle
Carry the seeds of their hope
Into the quiet land.
Oh land, oh land!
For all who are threatened with storms
The gentlest of the heralds of our fate
Is gesturing towards us, waving a torch,
And will lead us with a gentle hand
Into the land of the great dead,
Into the quiet land.
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:
By water – beaches and general Dreams Evening and the setting sun Ferries Hands Heaven, the sky Hope Leading and directing Morning and morning songs Noise and silence Seeds Storms Torches War, battles and fighting
We find ourselves in the here and now. We are on some sort of shore or beach at nightfall. Things are looking ominous: storm clouds are gathering and the coastline or river bank seems to be bleak and deserted. Our thoughts turn to the inevitable crossing that has to come, but we have no knowledge of what it will involve. Nor do we have much idea of what lies beyond. We tell ourselves that it will be a ‘quiet’ land, a place of peace, in contrast to the noise and turbulence that has accompanied us to this point.
What is the intended effect of the poem? The persistent repetition is presumably intended to offer reassurance to those who are afraid of the crossing and / or the destination. For some readers it will be death itself that offers a fearful prospect, to others the main concern might be the process of dying. Don’t we all have an inkling, though, that there is unlikely to be a helping hand to lead us across? Isn’t that why many of us want to be told that there IS such a hand? Isn’t it precisely because we suspect that there is nothing at all on the other side that all we choose to say about such a land is that it is going to be ‘quiet’?
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Original Spelling Lied Ins stille Land! Wer leitet uns hinüber? Schon wölkt sich uns der Abendhimmel trüber, Und immer trümmervoller wird der Strand. Wer leitet uns mit sanfter Hand Hinüber! ach! hinüber Ins stille Land? Ins stille Land! Zu euch, ihr freyen Räume Für die Veredlung! zarte Morgenträume Der schönen Seelen! künft'gen Daseyns Pfand. Wer treu des Lebens Kampf bestand, Trägt seiner Hoffnung Keime Ins stille Land. Ach Land! ach Land! Für alle Sturmbedrohten Der mildeste von unsers Schicksals Bothen Winkt uns, die Fackel umgewandt, Und leitet uns mit sanfter Hand Ins Land der großen Todten, Ins stille Land.
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s source, Gedichte von J. G. von Salis. Neueste Auflage. Wien 1815. Bey B. Ph. Bauer, page 138; and with Iris. Ein Taschenbuch für 1805. Herausgegeben von J. G. Jacobi. Zürich, bey Orell, Füssli und Compagnie, pages 338-339.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 138 [152 von 192] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ160622604