Here is my translation of Die Lorelei by Heinrich Heine.

            The Lorelei

         Heinrich Heine

I don't know why I am feeling
     So sorrowful at heart.
An old myth through my thoughts is reeling,
     And from them will not depart.
The cool evening air makes me shiver
     As I watch the Rhine's gentle flow.
The peak towering over the river
     Gleams bright in the sun's setting glow.

Up high on a ledge is sitting
     A maiden most marvelously fair.
Her golden jewelry is glitt'ring.
     She is combing her golden hair.
She uses a gold comb to comb it
     And sings a song as well,
That echoes down from the summit
     And casts a melodious spell.

The boatman is seized by wild yearning
     While guiding his small craft downstream.
His eyes from the rocks ahead turning,
     He looks up, lost in a dream.
I fear that the boat and her master
     Will slip under the waves before long.
And what brought about this disaster?
     The Lorelei's siren song.


                              Translated by Peter Shor, March 2016 (revised June 2024)

I decided that maybe the problem was that there wasn't really enough space in English to translate it properly if you used the same meter as the original. So I decided to try to translate it into ballad meter:

I do not know the reason for
     This sadness that's come over me.
A fairy tale from the days of yore
     Racks my mind ceaselessly.
...