Farewell to my daughter

The autumn wind shakes the linden-tree;

how quickly the world moves on!

Hold your dear child warm.

The summer has passed

when we were together -

alas, how poor they are who love each other!

How poor they are who love each other and part!

This we have both experienced;

I shudder at the silent house.

You still wave your handkerchief,

I can hardly see it for tears,

and silently gaze out into the alley.

The streets still look nocturnal,

the coach rattles cautiously -

then suddenly quicker the pace

through the gate to the quiet of the fields,

the woods greet so gamely -

daughter dear, travel with god!