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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Die Erde war so lange geizig
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  FRE
Die Erde war so lange geizig,
Da kam der Mai, und sie ward spendabel,
Und alles lacht, und jauchzt, und freut sich,
Ich aber bin nicht zu lachen kapabel.

Die Blumen sprießen, die Glöcklein schallen,
Die Vögel sprechen wie in der Fabel;
Mir aber will das Gespräch nicht gefallen,
Ich finde alles miserabel.

Das Menschenvolk mich ennuyieret,
Sogar der Freund, der sonst passabel; -
Das kömmt, weil man Madame titulieret
Mein süßes Liebchen, so süß und aimabel.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg, 1827, page 133.


Text Authorship:

  • by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 28 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Die Erde war so lange geizig", 1994-5, published c1998 [ tenor and piano ], from Ein Liederbuch nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, Abteilung III, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (John Todhunter) , appears in Heine's Book of Songs, first published 1907
  • FRE French (Français) (Charles Beltjens) , no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 28, first published 1827
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-10-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 76

La terre était restée longtemps...
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
La terre était restée longtemps parcimonieuse,
Puis vint le mois de mai,et elle devint généreuse,
Et tous rient, jubilent et se réjouissent,
Mais moi, je ne suis pas capable de rire.

Les fleurs sortent de terre, les cloches tintent,
Les oiseaux parlent, comme dans les fables ;
Mais moi, la conversation ne me plaît pas,
Je trouve tout misérable.

Le genre humain m'ennuie,
Même l'ami, naguère passable ;
La cause en est que l'on donne du Madame
À ma douce bien-aimée, si douce et si aimable.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Pierre Mathé, (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:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 28
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-12-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 84

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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