Adieux | Il est trop charmant de trahir sa parole

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Abschied

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: FRE

Zu lieblich ist's, ein Wort zu brechen,
Zu schwer die wohlerkannte Pflicht,
Und leider kann man nichts versprechen,
Was unserm Herzen wiederspricht.
Du übst die alten Zauberlieder,
Du lockst ihn, der kaum ruhig war,
Zum Schaukelkahn der süßen Torheit wieder,
Erneust, verdoppelt die Gefahr.

Was suchst du mir dich zu verstecken!
Sey offen, flieh nicht meinen Blick!
Früh oder spät müßt' ich's entdecken,
Und hier hast du dein Wort zurück.
Was ich gesollt, hab' ich vollendet;
Durch mich sey dir von nun an nichts verwehrt;
Verzeih dem Freund, der sich nun von dir wendet,
Und still in sich zurücke kehrt.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Abschied", first published 1797 [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 Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (1781 - 1829), "Abschied", op. 89 no. 1, published 1817 [ voice and guitar or piano ], from Sechs Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Abschied", published 1805-6 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Manfred Trojahn (b. 1949), "Abschied" [ voice and piano ], from 4 Goethe Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

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

FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Adieux", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 100

Adieux

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Il est trop charmant de trahir sa parole,
Trop dur de bien discerner son devoir,
Hélas ! et on ne peut pas promettre
Ce à quoi notre cœur s'oppose.
Tu pratiques les anciens chants magiques,
Tu l'attires, à peine était-il tranquille,
Sur la barque branlante d'une douce folie,
Tu renouvelles, redoubles le danger.

Qu'est-ce que tu cherches à me dissimuler !
Sois franche, ne fuis pas mon regard !
Tôt ou tard, je devais le découvrir,
Et maintenant je te rends ta parole.
Ce que je devais faire, je l'ai accompli ;
Ce n'est pas moi qui t'interdirai quoi que ce soit ;
Pardonne à l'ami qui aujourd'hui se détourne de toi,
Et en silence se replie sur lui-même.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Abschied", first published 1797
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-09-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 114