How splendid it would be if you, felled fir tree

How splendid it would be if you, felled fir tree,

were a ship's mast, high and slim

With flying flags in blue skies,

Before a sunlit harbour gate!

If, after all, we are meant to be together,

I'd lean against you in the bobbing house of sails.

You from the Black Forest, and I from the Rhine river,

As mates we would sail out to sea.

And if the ship broke, a splintered wreck,

And you, broken apart, went overboard,

I'd cling to you with hands as strong as iron:

Together we would swim toward the world's end.

It would be best if you stood tall and free

in a wood of firs, with bird song in your head,

And I would stroll along and pass you by,

Wherever I wanted, following the green mountain path!