"Bunt sind schon die Wälder" (Colourful are the forests already) is a popular Volkslied in German dealing with autumn.

The text of the song "Bunt sind schon die Wälder" was written in 1782 by the Swiss poet Johann Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis[1] and first published with the title "Herbstlied" (Autumn song) and subtitle "1782" in the Vossischer Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1786.

[1] It appeared in Als der Großvater die Großmutter nahm (1885), Volkstümliche Lieder der Deutschen (1895), Schulgesangbuch für höhere Lehranstalten (1912), Lieder für höhere Mädchenschulen (1919, Schubert version), Liederbuch des Thüringerwald-Vereins (1927), Wir singen and Das große Liederbuch, among others;[3] it became a popular Volkslied.

[6] When the broadcaster MDR ran a poll in 2011 to find the "most beautiful Volkslied", giving a choice of 20, it came in second of 171 additional listener suggestions.

[1] "Bunt sind schon die Wälder" was originally written in seven stanzas of six lines each, rhyming AABCCB.

Rote Blätter fallen, graue Nebel wallen, kühler weht der Wind.

Flinke Träger springen, und die Mädchen singen, alles jubelt froh!

Bunte Bänder schweben zwischen hohen Reben auf dem Hut von Stroh.

Several editions of Christian song books (in German) in the United States from the 19th century closed the song similarly by Fliedner's stanza, sometimes preceded by another stanza of similar content, such as Sonntagsschul-Gesangbuch der Reformirten Kirche in den Vereinigten Staaten from 1876,[10] Unser Liederbuch: die schönsten Lieder für Schule, Sonntagsschule und Familie from 1893,[11] and Liederbuch für Sonntagschulen of the Evangelical Synod of North America, 1898.

[12] The first setting of "Herbstlied" was published in 1785 by Johann Georg Witthauer [de], in volume two of his collection, Sammlung vermischter Clavier- und Singstücke.

; he had written in 1782, in an article of the Musikalisches Kunstmagazin magazine, that it was the highest and most difficult objective of a composer to "make a song in true folk spirit" ("ein Lied in wahrem Volksinn zu machen").