Words by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
English version by Natalia Macfarren
Narrator: | Who rides through the night o'er woodland wild? |
Father: | My son, thou hidest thy face as in fear? |
Son: | The Erl-king father see he is near, |
Father: | My son, ‘tis but a passing cloud. |
Erl-king: | My gentle boy, oh come with me, |
Son: | My father, my father, oh dost thou not hear |
Father: | Nay, fear not, it is nothing, my child, |
Erl-king: | Thou gentle boy, wilt thou with me go? |
Son: | My father, my father, I feel sore afraid, |
Father: | My son, my son I see it full well, |
Erl-king: | I love thee, child, in vain wouldst thou now be perverse, |
Son: | My father, my father, his cold hand I feel! |
Narrator: | The Father shudd'ring gives spur to his steed, |
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