Ach, was ist Leben doch so schwer

Ach, was ist Leben doch so schwer,
[Wenn]1, was Du lieb hast, ist nicht mehr!
Aber sei still!
Weil Gott es will.
 
Ach, was ist Sterben doch so schwer,
[Wenn]1, was Du lieb hast, weint umher.
Aber sei still!
Weil Gott es will.
 
Ach, Leben, Sterben wär' nicht schwer,
Wenn unser Herz nur stille wär'!
Darum sei still!
Weil Gott es will.

Translation(s): ENG

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About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Zwei Menschenalter. Erinnerungen und Briefe, herausgegeben von Adelheid von Schorn, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1901, page 19

Authorship

• by Henriette Wilhelmine Auguste von Schorn (1807 - 1869), as Henriette Nordheim, no title [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Eduard Lassen (1830 - 1904), "Sei stille", op. 71 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 2, published 1881 [voice and piano], Breslau, Hainauer [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Sei still", S. 330 (1877-9), published 1879. [voice and piano] [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by (Joseph) Joachim Raff (1822 - 1882), "Sei still", op. 173 (Acht Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 8 (1868-70), published 1872 [voice and piano], Leipzig, Seitz [
   text not verified 
  ]

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , title 1: "Be still", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Ah, how hard it is to live

Ah, how hard it is to live,
When those you love are no longer there!
But be still!
Because God wills it.
 
Ah, how hard it is to die,
When those you love are weeping all about you.
But be still!
Because God wills it.
 
Ah, living and dying would not be difficult
If our heart could only be still!
Therefore, be still!
Because God wills it.

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About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

• Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 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 at lieder dot net)
  
  
  

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Henriette Wilhelmine Auguste von Schorn (1807 - 1869), as Henriette Nordheim, no title
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Eduard Lassen, Franz Liszt, Joachim Raff. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2011-05-01.
Last modified: 2016-08-27 21:54:14
Line count: 12
Word count: 67