Nicht lange ist's her, da lachte
Language: German (Deutsch)
Nicht lange ist's her, da lachte
Die Welt mir und das Meer,
Da kam der Sturm, und machte
Das Herz mir todt und schwer.
Und doch muß ich es tragen
Hier in der Brust wie Stein,
Bei jeder meiner Klagen,
Da sinkt es tiefer ein.
Ich fühl' nicht mehr sein Klopfen,
Dem kalten Erz ist's gleich --
Die heißen Thränentropfen,
Die machten es nicht weich.
Denn meine Thränen sprühten
Als Feuerfunken drauf,
Und härteten und glühten
Zu Stahl es. -- Hebt es auf,
Ihr Seufzer, reißt das Herz mir
Doch aus der Brust! Befreit
Mich, nehmt den Schmerz mir,
Die große Müdigkeit.
Versenkt es in die Wellen,
In's große weite Meer,
Den Felsen zugesellen
Das Herz, so todt und schwer.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with: Carmen Sylva, Sappho, Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus, 1880, pages 42-43.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2014-12-26
Line count: 24
Word count: 118
Not long ago, the world and
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Not long ago, the world and
The sea laughed for me,
Then a storm came and made
My heart dead and heavy.
And yet I must bear it
Here in my breast like a stone;
With every one of my laments,
It sinks in more deeply.
I no longer feel its beating,
It is like cold bronze --
The fervent teardrops
Did not soften it.
For my tears sprayed
Like fiery sparks upon it,
And hardened it to steel and
Made it incandesce. -- Pick it up,
You sighs, tear the heart
From out my breast! Free
Me, take my pain away,
My great fatigue.
Plunge it into the waves[,]
Into the great wide sea,
Let it keep company with the rocks,
The heart, so dead and heavy.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2014-12-26
Line count: 24
Word count: 126
