Wohin?

Ich hört' ein Bächlein rauschen
Wohl aus dem Felsenquell,
Hinab zum Tale rauschen
So frisch und wunderhell.

Ich weiß nicht, wie mir wurde,
Nicht, wer den Rat mir gab,
Ich mußte [gleich]1 hinunter
Mit meinem Wanderstab.

Hinunter und immer weiter
Und immer dem Bache nach,
Und immer frischer rauschte
Und immer heller der Bach.

Ist das denn meine Straße?
O Bächlein, sprich, wohin?
Du hast mit deinem Rauschen
Mir ganz berauscht den Sinn.

Was sag ich denn [von]2 Rauschen?
Das kann kein Rauschen sein:
Es singen wohl die Nixen
[Dort]3 unten ihren Reihn.

Laß singen, Gesell, laß rauschen
Und wandre fröhlich nach!
Es gehn ja Mühlenräder
In jedem klaren Bach.

View text without footnotes
¹ Schubert: "auch"
² Schubert: "vom"
³ Schubert: "Tief"

Authorship

by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827) , "Wohin?", from Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 1, in Die schöne Müllerin, no. 3

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Ludwig Berger (1777-1839) , "Des Müllers Wanderlied", op. 11 no. 1, published 1818, from Gesänge aus einem gesellschaftlichen Liederspiele "Die schöne Müllerin", no. 1.
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) , "Wohin?", op. 25 no. 2, D. 795 no. 2 (1823), from Die schöne Müllerin, no. 2.

by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944) , "Whither?"
by W. H. Bentley , "Whither?", op. 2 (Six songs) no. 2. [voice and piano]
by John Blockley (1800-1882) , "Whither?" [voice, piano]
by A. H. Cox , "Whither?" [voice, piano]
by Charles John Hargitt (1833-1918) , "Whither?" [voice, piano]
by Karl Pomeroy Harrington (1861-) , "Whither?", published 1883. [voice, piano]
by John Liptrot Hatton (1809-1886) , "Whither?" [voice, piano]
by H. R. Howard , "Whither?" [voice, piano]
by Edward James Loder (1813-1865) , "I heard a brooklet gushing"
by Edward Oswald Schaaf (1869-1939) , "Whither?", op. 3, published 1902 [voice, piano], from German and English Poems in Song, volume 2
by Arthur Octavius Smith , "The Brooklet" [voice, piano]
by Ogle Wintle , "Whither?" [voice, piano], from Six Songs

ENG English (Emily Ezust)
SPA Spanish (Pilar Lirio) (Uta Weber)
DUT Dutch [singable] (Lau Kanen)
ITA Italian (Amelia Maria Imbarrato)
FRE French (Guy Laffaille)

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

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Where to?

I hear a brooklet rushing
Right out of the rock's spring,
Down there to the valley it rushes,
So fresh and wondrously bright..

I know not, how I felt this,
Nor did I know who gave me advice;
I must go down
With my wanderer's staff.

Down and always farther,
And always the brook follows after;
And always rushing crisply,
And always bright is the brook.

Is this then my road?
O, brooklet, speak! where to?
You have with your rushing
Entirely intoxicated my senses.

But why do I speak of rushing?
That can't really be rushing:
Perhaps the water-nymphs
are singing rounds down there in the deep.

Let it sing, my friend, let it rush,
And wander joyously after!
Mill-wheels turn 
In each clear brook.

Authorship

Translation from German to English copyright © by Emily Ezust,

a text in German by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827) , "Wohin?", from Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 1, in Die schöne Müllerin, no. 3 DUT ITA FRE SPA

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.