The Unitarin hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition, has a different translation. First verse is from Kevess; and verses 2 and 3 are translated by Elizebeth Bennett, ©: 1955 by the American Ethical Union:

Die Gedanken Sint Frei

Die Gedanken Sind Frei, my thoughts freely flower.
Die Gedanken Sind Frei, my thoughts give me power.
No scholar can map them, no hunter can trap them,
no one can deny: Die Gedanken Sind Frei!

My thoughts are as free as wind o'er the ocean,
and no one can see their form or their motion,
No hunter can find them, no trap ever bind them:
my lips may be still, but I think what I will.

A glimmering fire in the darkness will brighten;
my soaring desire all troubles can lighten.
Though prison enfold me, its walls cannot hold me:
no captive I'll be, for my spirit is free.


I dunno. I think I like the 100% Kevess translation better. There were mixed opinions of each translation after I sang the song at the Getaway this weekend.

-Joe-