Heidenröslein ✧
Schubert’s flowing song melody, with a bright upper register and expressive chromatic turns.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
A rose on the heath
The melody rises
Röslein refrain
D whistle · G major · 2/4 · 70 BPM · + upper octave
A rose on the heath
The melody rises
Röslein refrain
Lyrics
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · first verse in the historical Schubert score
Sah ein Knab’ ein Röslein stehn, Röslein auf der Heiden, War so jung und morgenschön, Lief er schnell, es nah zu sehn, Sah’s mit vielen Freuden. Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot, Röslein auf der Heiden.
About this tune
Franz Schubert set Goethe’s poem Heidenröslein in 1815. His song is catalogued as D. 257 and Op. 3 No. 3.
The vocal line combines repeated notes with flowing sixteenth-note figures. Chromatic turns lead into the recurring “Röslein” refrain before a quiet descent to the tonic.