Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SONG OF MIGNON by JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

First Line: KNOWS'T THOU THE LAND WHERE CITRON-FLOWERS
Last Line: OUR PATHWAY LEADS: O FATHER, LET US GO!
Subject(s): GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON (1749-1832); SINGING & SINGERS; SONGS;

KNOWS'T thou the land where citron-flowers unfold?
Through dusky foliage gleams the orange-gold;
Soft breezes float beneath the dark-blue sky;
The myrtle sleeps, the laurel shoots on high?
Thither -- that land dost thou not know?
Would I with thee, O my Beloved, go!

Know'st thou the house, its roof on pillars fair?
The long hall shines, the chambers glimmer there;
And marble statues stand and gaze on me:
Poor child, they say, what ill was done to thee?
Thither -- that house dost thou not know?
Would I with thee, O my Protector, go.

Know'st thou the mountain? Through the cloud it soars;
In rolling mist the mule his path ex plores;
The ancient dragons haunt its caverns deep,
And o'er the crashing rock the torrents leap?
Thither -- the hills dost thou not know?
Our pathway leads: O Father, let us go!



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