This German Christmas Carol was written by Eduard Ebel (1839-1905) and translated into English by Loralee Jo Kurzius. You can watch the YouTube video I found where you can hear it sung.
Softly Falls Each Snow Flake
(English Translation)Softly falls each snow flake
Silent and frozen the lake
Christmas shimmers from the moon.
Rejoice the Christ child comes soon!In our hearts we feel warm
Free from worries and harm
Cares of life fade far away
Come soon dear Christ-Child, we pray!Soon his journey he’ll take
Choir of angels awake
Hear how sublime it does ring
The Christ Child’s birth we will sing.Leise rieselt der Schnee
(German)Leise rieselt der Schnee,
Still und starr ruht der See,
Weihnachlicht glänzet der wald.
Freue dich,’s Christkind kommt bald!In den Herzen wird’s warm,
Still schweigt Kummer und Harm,
Sorge des lebbens verhalt.
Freue dich,’s Christkind kommt bald!Bald ist heilige Nacht,
Chor der Engel erwacht,
Hört nur, wie lieblich es schallt:
Freue dich,’s Christkind kommt bald!
Many thanks to Loralee Jo Kurzius for contributing this song and for providing the translation and to “Veilchen” for letting me post her recording!
-Mama Lisa
UPDATE: Check out my later post for a version of Leise rieselt der Schnee with 4 verses and a different English translation and another YouTube video rendition of the song!
This article was posted on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Christmas, Christmas Songs, Countries & Cultures, German, Germany, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Languages, Leise rieselt der Schnee, YouTube. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
3 Responses to “A German Christmas Song called Leise rieselt der Schnee – Softly Falls Each Snowflake”
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July 25th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Thank you for the clear pronunciation. It really helps to have that when learning German (or any other language).
November 7th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Krass! Hätte ich garnicht gedacht…
Weihnachtsmann Köln
English Translation:
“Wow, I hadn’t thought of it at all.”
October 28th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Vielen, vielen Dank. Ich war 8 jahre alt und habe es am Markt Platz in Halle an der Sale zu Weihnachten gesungen gesungen.
Now I live in California and a friend of mine just returned from Halle and brought a picture of the statue of Haendel at that very place and the memory of that song came back but not all the words.
Thanks you so much for providing those, it warms my heart.