Weh! mein Freund liegt auf dem Lager
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Weh! mein Freund liegt auf dem Lager
Abgezehret zum Skelett.
Spricht der Arzt: "O! daß er mager
Wird, ist besser als zu fett.
Warmer Regen statt des Schnees
Bringt das End ihm seines [Wehes]1,
Daß er froh springt aus dem Bett."
Bald fällt warmer Regen immer
Und der Schnee, der kalte, flieht,
Doch es wird der Kranke schlimmer.
Spricht der Arzt: "O! das geschieht,
Weil die Luft wird immer nässer,
Heller Himmel wär' ihm besser,
Wolken machen immer müd."
Endlich strahlt die Sonne helle,
Doch der Kranke hat vollbracht;
Spricht der Arzt: "Nur weil zu schnelle
Kam die Sonne so mit Macht,
Starb er, konnt' nach trüben Tagen
Nicht das grelle Licht ertragen:
Habe das voraus gedacht."
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with
Kerners Werke, Zweiter Teil, Gedichte, ed. Raimund Pissin, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., 1914, page 310.
1 Schneider: "Wehs"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Of medics", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2008-06-18
Line count: 21
Word count: 117
Of medics
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Woe! my friend lies upon his sickbed,
Emaciated to a skeleton.
Says the doctor: "Oh, that he is becoming
Thinner, is better than becoming too fat.
Warm rains instead of the snow
Will bring the end of all his woe,
So that he may happily spring from his bed."
Soon warm rain falls continuously
And the snow, the cold [snow], flees,
But the sick man gets worse.
Says the doctor: "Oh, that is happening
Because the air is becoming ever damper,
A bright sky would be better for him,
Clouds always make one tired."
Finally the sun beams brightly,
But the sick man has completed his life journey.
Says the doctor: "He died only
Because the sun came too quickly with all its power;
After dreary days he could
Not stand the dazzling light:
That's what I thought would happen."
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 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:
This text was added to the website: 2013-09-12
Line count: 21
Word count: 140