Concealed | Once upon a time there was a young butterfly

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by Georg Scherer (1824 - 1909)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Versteckt

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

War einst ein junger Schmetterling,
Ein flatterhaftes, flücht'ges Ding,
  Umschwärmend alle Rosen;
Doch keine war ihm schön genug;
Er wollte nur im raschen Flug
  Verliebt mit ihnen kosen.

Da sah er eines Morgens stehn
Die weiße Lilie, rein und schön,
  Die eben sich erschlossen;
Tauperlen blitzten noch auf ihr, 
Sie stand, des Gartens stolze Zier, 
  Von Anmut übergossen.

Der Falter naht in holder Scheu:
"Dir bleib' ich treu; nun ist's vorbei
  Mit flatterhaften Scherzen."
Er schaut ihr in den Kelch hinein --
Da lag ein fein Goldkäferlein 
  Ihr heimlich schon am Herzen.

Confirmed with Gedichte von Georg Scherer, vierte, vermehrte Auflage, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Berlin, Wien: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1894, pages 251-252

Text Authorship:

by Georg Scherer (1824 - 1909), "Versteckt", appears in Gedichte von Georg Scherer, in 3. Drittes Buch [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 Max Stange (1856 - 1932), "Versteckt", op. 66 (Fünf Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1898 [ medium voice and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen Verlag [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Concealed", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-02
Line count: 18
Word count: 91

Concealed

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Once upon a time there was a young butterfly,
A fluttering, hasty thing,
  Swarming about all the roses;
But none of them was beautiful enough for him;
Only in rapid flight did he wish
  To dally with them as if in love.

Then one morning he saw
The white lily, pure and lovely,
  Which had just opened;
Pearls of dew still sparkled upon her,
She stood, the proud adornment of the garden,
  Flooded with charm.

The butterfly neared in lovely shyness:
"To you I shall remain faithful, now it is over
  With the fluttering jests."
He gazed into her calyx --
There already lay a fine little gold-bug
  Secretly nestled against her heart.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Scherer (1824 - 1909), "Versteckt", appears in Gedichte von Georg Scherer, in 3. Drittes Buch
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-08-25
Line count: 18
Word count: 112