Although he was a couple of years older, Senn was at the same school as Schubert (Senn was expelled); they probabvly first met there. As students they were close drinking friends. In the politically-repressive times that coincided with their twenties, Senn was under police attention as a probable subversive; on one famous occasion, Schubert and Bruchmann were arrested with him in his rooms, the two getting off with a caution and a black eye for Schubert, while Senn was jailed for 14 months without trial and banished. Senn’s poem set as the Schwanengesang is rated among the great Schubert songs.