Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Destruction of Magdeburg
Oh, Magdeberg the town!
Fair maids thy beauty crown,
Thy charms fair maids and matrons crown;
Oh, Magdeburg the town!
Where all so blooming stands,
Advance fierce Tilly’s bands;
O’er gardens and o’er well–till’d lands
Advance fierce Tilly’s bands.
Now Tilly’s at the gate.
Our homes who’ll liberate?
Go, loved one, hasten to the gate,
And dare the combat straight!
There is no need as yet,
However fierce his threat;
Thy rosy cheeks I’ll kiss, sweet pet!
There is no need as yet.
My longing makes me pale.
Oh, what can wealth avail?
E’en now thy father may be pale.
The Farewell
Let mine eye the farewell say,
That my lips can utter ne’er;
Fain I’d be a man to-day,
Yet ’tis hard, oh, hard to bear!
Mournful in an hour like this
Is love’s sweetest pledge, I ween;
Cold upon thy mouth the kiss,
Faint thy fingers’ pressure e’en.
Oh what rapture to my heart
Used each stolen kiss to bring!
As the violets joy impart,
Gather’d in the early spring.
Now no garlands I entwine,
Now no roses pluck. for thee,
Though ’tis springtime, Fanny mine,
Dreary autumn ’tis to me!
The Muse’s Son
Through field and wood to stray,
And pipe my tuneful lay,–
‘Tis thus my days are pass’d;
And all keep tune with me,
And move in harmony,
And so on, to the last.
To wait I scarce have power
The garden’s earliest flower,
The tree’s first bloom in Spring;
They hail my joyous strain,–
When Winter comes again,
Of that sweet dream I sing.
My song sounds far and near,
O’er ice it echoes clear,
Then Winter blossoms bright;
And when his blossoms fly,
Fresh raptures meet mine eye,
Upon the well-till’d height.
When ‘neath the linden tree,
