Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.
The Lorelei
By Heinrich Heine (17971856)
I
This thought so full of woe;
But a tale of times departed
Haunts me, and will not go.
And calmly flows the Rhine,
The mountain-peaks are sparkling
In the sunny evening-shine.
The fairest of the fair;
With gold is her garment glittering,
And she combs her golden hair:
And a wild song singeth she,
That melts the heart with a wondrous
And powerful melody.
With a nameless longing move;
He sees not the gulfs before him,
His gaze is fixed above,
The Rhine’s deep waters run:
And this, with her magic singing,
The Lore-lei has done!