by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by John Todhunter (1839 - 1916)
Die Erde war so lange geizig
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): 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.
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: 77
Till May came Earth was quite penurious
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Till May came Earth was quite penurious, And then grew lavishly charitable, Now all things laugh in a joy delirous, I too would laugh, were I only able. The flowers blossom, the bells are pealing, The birds all speak as they do in fable; To me their speech brings no pleasant feeling, I still find all things miserable. They bore me, all the race of Adam, Ay, even my friend, once quite tolerable;-- And all because they address as 'Madam' My sweetheart, so sweet and so amiable.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by John Todhunter (1839 - 1916), appears in Heine's Book of Songs, first published 1907 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 28
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 87