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by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of King Carol I of Romania (1843 - 1916), as Carmen Sylva
Translation © by Sharon Krebs
Wozu soll ich reden?
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Wozu soll ich reden? Mein Wort ist so alt! Wozu soll ich singen? Die Welt ist so kalt! Dem stürmenden Herzen Tönt hohl es zurück, Versunken im Meergrund Ist Liebe und Glück. Wie soll ich erzählen, Als wär' ich schon todt? -- Fast sind mir vom Weinen Die Augen noch roth. O! hätt' ich vergessen Mich selber, die Welt, Es wäre viel besser [Nun]1 um mich bestellt. Auch mich hat einst zärtlich Die Mutter geküßt, Mich haben die Blumen Als Schwester gegrüßt. Doch nun steh' ich einsam, Und fremd und verbannt, Und sehne mich todt nach Dem sonnigen Land, Nach einstiger Liebe Vergessener Pein -- O könnt' ich noch einmal So unglücklich sein! Ich weinte noch stürmisch Die Augen mir roth -- Nun bin ich ein Schatten, So kalt und so todt!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with: Carmen Sylva, Sappho, Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus, 1880, pages 19-20.
1 omited by Sommer.
Authorship
- by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of King Carol I of Romania (1843 - 1916), as Carmen Sylva, no title, appears in Sappho, in 1. Erster Gesang [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Friedrich August Naubert (1839 - 1897), "Wozu soll ich reden?", op. 40 no. 5, published 1883 [voice and piano], from Fünf Lieder aus "Stürme" von Carmen Sylva für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 5, Kassel, Voigt [ sung text not verified ]
- by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Wozu soll ich reden? Mein Wort ist so alt!", op. 6 no. 2 (1883/84), published 1884 [voice and piano or orchestra], from Sappho's Gesänge aus Carmen Sylva's Dichtung, no. 2, Braunschweig, H. Litolff [ sung text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
Wherefore should I speak?
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Wherefore should I speak? My words are so old! Wherefore should I sing? The world is so cold! It echoes back hollowly To the stormy heart, Sunk into the depths of the sea Are love and happiness. How should I recount, As if I were already dead? -- From weeping my eyes Are still almost red. Oh! had I forgotten Myself, the world, It would be much better For me [now]1. I, too, was once kissed Tenderly by my mother, The flowers greeted me As their sister. But now I stand solitary, And strange and exiled, And am nearly dead with yearning For the sunny land, For the forgotten pain Of former love -- Oh could I but once more Be that unhappy! I would still weep stormily Until my eyes were red -- Now I am a shadow, So cold and so dead!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translated titles:
"Wozu soll ich reden?" = "Wherefore should I speak?"
"Wozu soll ich reden? Mein Wort ist so alt!" = "Wherefore should I speak? My words are so old!"
1 Omited by Sommer.
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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- a text in German (Deutsch) by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of King Carol I of Romania (1843 - 1916), as Carmen Sylva, no title, appears in Sappho, in 1. Erster Gesang