Why do we need inspiration?

I certainly do.

It refuels my positive energy.

I am ever thankful to people who live their lives with passion.

! ! PASSION ! !

Here is someone - forget what it's all about - enjoy empathising with this wonderful human being!

Listen and watch Anne Sophia von Otter

Thank you Utube

See also the same story told differently!

What's it all about? (Does it matter?)

The Erl King see wikipedia

"Goethe's poem begins with a young boy being brought to his home by his father. The meaning is somewhat ambiguous, as the word "Hof" has the rather generic meaning of "yard" or "place." ("Platz" is a synonym.) In this case it could mean a "courtyard" or "farmyard" (though "der Bauernhof" is the literal word for a farmyard). The ambiguity about the father's social rank is quite acceptable because any father would have similar feelings about a son (or daughter) so ill and in pain.

The poem begins by giving the impression that the child is simply dying from a vague, unspecified ailment and sees death as a figment of his imagination. As it proceeds, the poem takes an ever darker twist, and ends with the child's death.
One story has it that Goethe was visiting a friend when, late one night, a dark figure carrying a bundle in its arms was seen riding past the gate at high speed. The next day Goethe and his friend were told that they had seen a farmer taking his sick son to the doctor. This incident (along with the legend) is said to have been the main inspiration for the poem."

Thank you Christine Atkinson for discovering this for me!

Geothe and Schubert and Berlioz (orchestration) too!

We now have Otter's Recording on CD!