Cupid | By the fire sat the child

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by Clemens Maria Wenzeslaus von Brentano (1778 - 1842)

Translation © by John Glenn Paton

An dem Feuer saß das Kind

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE ITA

An dem Feuer saß das Kind
    Amor, Amor
    Und war blind;
Mit dem kleinen Flügel fächelt
In die [Flamme]¹ er und lächelt,
[Fächle, lächle,]² schlaues Kind!

Ach, der Flügel brennt dem Kind,
    Amor, Amor
    Läuft geschwind!
"O wie [mich]³ die Glut durchpeinet!"
Flügelschlagend laut er weinet,
In der Hirtin Schoß entrinnt
Hülfeschreiend das schlaue Kind.

Und die Hirtin hilft dem Kind
    Amor, Amor
    Bös und blind.
Hirtin, sieh, dein Herz entbrennet, 
Hast den [Schelm du]⁴ nicht gekennet?
Sieh, die Flamme wächst [geschwind]⁵.
Hüt dich vor dem schlauen Kind!⁶

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Strauss

About the headline (FAQ)

View text without footnotes

Confirmed with Clemens Brentano, Gedichte, Classics To Go, Otbebookpublishing.

¹ Strauss: "Flammen"
² Strauss: "Fächelt, lächelt"
³ Strauss: "ihn" (this line not in quotes)
⁴ Strauss: "Schelmen"
⁵ Strauss: "geschwinde"
⁶ Strauss adds "Fächle, lächle, schlaues Kind!"

Text Authorship:

by Clemens Maria Wenzeslaus von Brentano (1778 - 1842), no title, appears in Aloys und Imelde [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 Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Amor", op. 68 (Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) no. 5 (1918)
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Lau Kanen [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 95

Cupid

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

By the fire sat the child
Cupid, Cupid 
and was blind;
with his little wings he fans
into the flames and smiles;
Fan, smile, wily child!

Ah, the child's wing is burning!
Cupid, Cupid 
runs quickly.
O how the burning hurts him deeply!
Beating his wings, he weeps loudly;
To the shepherdess's lap runs,
crying for help, the wily child.

And the shepherdess helps the child,
Cupid, Cupid, 
naughty and blind.
Shepherdess, look, your heart is burning;
You did not recognize the rascal.
See, the flame is growing quickly.
Save yourself, from the wily child!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2002 by John Glenn Paton, (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 Clemens Maria Wenzeslaus von Brentano (1778 - 1842), no title, appears in Aloys und Imelde
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 95