World, farewell! Of thee I'm tired

Representative Text

World, farewell! Of thee I'm tired,
Now t'ward heav'n my way I take;
There is peace the long-desired,
Lofty calm that nought can break;
World, with thee is war and strife,
Thou with cheating hopes art rife,
But in heaven is no alloy,
Only peace and love and joy.

When I reach that home of gladness,
I shall feel no more this load,
Feel no sickness, want, or sadness,
Resting in the arms of God.
In the world woes follow fast,
And a bitter death comes last,
But in heaven shall nought destroy
Endless peace and love and joy.

Here is nought but care and mourning,
Comes a joy, it will not stay;
Fairly shines the sun at dawning,
Night will soon o'ercloud the day;
World, with thee we weep and pine,
Gnawing care and grief are thine;
But in heaven is no alloy,
Only peace and love and joy.

Well for him whom death has landed
Safely on yon blessed shore,
Where, in joyful worship banded,
Sing the faithful evermore;
For the world hath strife and war,
All her works and hopes they mar,
But in heaven is no annoy,
Only peace and love and joy.

Time, thou speedest on but slowly,
Hours, how tardy is your pace,
Ere with Him, the High and Holy,
I hold converse face to face:
World, with partings thou art rife,
Fill'd with tears and storms and strife;
But in heaven can nought destroy
Endless peace and love and joy.

Therefore will I now prepare me,
That my work may stand His doom,
And when all is sinking round me,
I may hear not "Go"--but "Come!"
World, the voice of grief is here,
Outward seeming, care, and fear,
But in heaven is no alloy,
Only peace and love and joy!

Source: Chorale Book for England, The #198

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Author: Johann Georg Albinus

Albinus, Johann Georg eldest s. of Zacharias Albinus, pastor at Unter-Nessa, near Weissenfels, Saxony, 1621-1633, and at Stuhlburgwerben, 1633-1635, was b. at UnterNessa, March 6, 1624. After his father's death, in 1635, he was, in 1638, adopted by his cousin, Lucas Pollio, diaconus at St Nicholas's Church in Leipzig. After his cousin's death, in 1643, the Court preacher, Sebastian Mitternacht, of Naumburg, took an interest in him, and he remained at Naumburg till he entered the University of Leipzig, in 1645. He studied for eight years at Leipzig, during which time ho acted as house tutor to the Burgomaster, Dr. Friedrich Kuhlwein, and was then, in 1653, appointed Eector of the Cathedral School at Naumburg. This post he resigned when, in… Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	World, farewell! Of thee I'm tired
German Title:	Welt, ade, ich bin dein müde
Author:	Johann Georg Albinus (1652)
Translator:	Catherine Winkworth (1863)
Meter:	8.7.8.7.7.7.7.7
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

iii. Welt, Ade! ich bin dein mude. [For the Dying,] First printed on a broadsheet for the funeral of Johanne Magdalene, daughter of the Archidiaconus Abraham Teller, of St. Nicholas’s Church, Leipzig, who died Feb. 27, 1649, and included in Albinus's Geistlicher geharnischter Kriegesheld, Leipzig, 1675. Also given in the Bayreuth Gesang-Buch of 1660, p. 542, and recently as No. 842 in the Underfalschter Leidersegen 1851, in 9 stanzas of 8 lines. The translation is common use is:—
World, farewell! Of thee I'm tired. A full and good tr. in the 2nd Ser., 1858, of Miss Winkworth's Lyra Germanica, p. 207. In her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 198, stanzas iii., iv., vi. were omitted. Her translations of lines 1-4, of stanzas viii., v., vi., iv., beginning. "Time, thou speedest on but slowly," were included as No. 1305 in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865, as No. 1392, in the Hymns & Songs of Praise, New York, 1874, and Church Praise Book, 1882, No. 652. Another translation is:— "World, farewell, my soul is weary," by Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 113.