Mignon’s Song

by

Mignon's Song (1795) is the yearning lyric of a mysterious child who longs for the sunlit land of Italy. Originally embedded in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, it became one of the most frequently set poems in Western music, with versions by Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and others. "Know'st thou the land where the lemon-trees bloom?"
Author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 
KNOW'ST thou the land where the fair citron blows,
Where the bright orange midst the foliage glows,
Where soft winds greet us from the azure skies,
Where silent myrtles, stately laurels rise,
Know'st thou it well?

'Tis there, 'tis there,
That I with thee, beloved one, would repair.

Know'st thou the house? On columns rests its pile,
Its halls are gleaming, and its chambers smile,
And marble statues stand and gaze on me:
“Poor child! what sorrow hath befallen thee?”
Know'st thou it well?

'Tis there, 'tis there,
That I with thee, protector, would repair!

Know'st thou the mountain, and its cloudy bridge?
The mule can scarcely find the misty ridge;
In caverns dwells the dragon's olden brood,
The frowning crag obstructs the raging flood.
Know'st thou it well?

'Tis there, 'tis there,
Our path lies—Father—thither, oh repair!