Friedrich Adolf Krummacher: “Mountain and Valley”

Excerpt, “German Lyric Poetry:  A Collection of Songs and Ballads.”  Translated from the Best German Lyric Poets, with Notes by Charles Timothy Brooks.  1863.

 MOUNTAIN AND VALLEY

.

On Alpine heights the love of God is shed;

He paints the morning red,

The flowerets white and blue,

And feeds them with his dew.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.

.

On Alpine heights, o’er many a fragrant heath,

The loveliest breezes breathe;

So free and pure the air,

His breath seems floating there.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.

.

On Alpine heights, beneath his mild blue eye,

Still vales and meadows lie;

The soaring glacier’s ice

Gleams like a Paradise.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.

.

Down Alpine heights the silvery streamlets flow;

There the bold chamois go;

On giddy crags they stand,

And drink from his own hand.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.

.

On Alpine heights, in troops all white as snow,

The sheep and wild goats go;

There, in the solitude,

He fills their hearts with food.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.

.

On Alpine heights the herdsman tends his herd;

His shepherd is the Lord;

For he who feeds the sheep

Will sure his offspring keep.

On Alpine heights a loving Father dwells.