Now I am the maiden herself who listens, smiling in happiness, to the rustling of the tree, leaning her head against its trunk, full of longing fancies as she sinks to sleep and to dream, from which she would wish never to awaken.
This song interprets the exalted mood of the soul of the man who, lying at rest in the long grass, watches the clouds float by, and whose being is made one with nature as he does so. A whole world of insects buzzes about him, the air shimmers in the bright sunlight, flowers shed their perfume; everything about him lives a murmuring life in tones that seem to enhance the peace of nature, far from the haunts of men.
As tranquil as are the clouds that pass by, as peaceful as is the mood of nature, as luxurious as are the flowers that spread their fragrance, so tranquil and calm must be the breathing of the singer, which draws the long phrases of the song over the chords of the accompaniment, and brings before us in words and tones the picture of the warm peace of summer in nature, and the radiant being of a man dissolved within it.
I mark the breathing places with _V_. "Ich liege still im Nohen grünen Gras _V_ und sende lange meinen Blick _V_ nach oben _V_ [and again comfortably, calmly] nach oben.
"Von Grillen rings umschwärmt _V_ ohn' Unterlass _V_ von Himmelsbläue wundersam umwoben _V_ von Himmelsbläue _V_ _wundersam umwoben_."
Each tone, each letter, is connected closely with the preceding and following; the expression of the eyes and of the soul should be appropriate to that of the glorified peace of nature and of the soul's happiness. The last phrase should soar tenderly, saturated with a warm and soulful coloring.
"Die schönen weissen Wolken zieh'n dahin _V_ durch's _tiefe_ Blau _V_, [I gaze at it for a moment] wie schöne, stille Träume _V_ [losing one's self] wie schöne stille Träume. _V_ [A feeling of dissolution takes away every thought of living and being.] Mir ist _V_ als ob _V_ ich längst _V_ gestorben bin! [The whole being is dissolved in the ether; the end comes with outstretched wings soaring above the earth.] und ziehe selig mit _V_ durch ew'ge Räume _V_ und ziehe selig mit _V_ durch ew'ge Räume. [Dissolution of the soul in the universe must sound forth from the singer's tone.]