My mother said to me, there behind yonder mountain

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by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Es hat die Mutter mir gesagt, dort...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Es hat die Mutter mir gesagt, dort hinter jenem Berge,
Der Wolken um den Gipfel hat und Nebel um die Wurzel,
Dort wächst das Kraut Vergessenheit, dort wächst es in den Schluchten.
O wüßt' ich nur den Pfad dahin, drei Tage wollt' ich wandern
Und wollte brechen von dem Kraut und wollt's im Weine trinken,
Damit ich dich vergessen könnt' und deine falschen Schwüre
Und deine Augen, die so oft von Liebe mir gesprochen,
Und deinen süßen, süßen Mund, der tausendmal mich küßte!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• E. Hildach

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel, Vierzehnte Auflage, Berlin: Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1849, page 230.

Text Authorship:

by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), "Das Kraut Vergessenheit", appears in Jugendgedichte, in 3. Drittes Buch, in Athen, in Neugriechische Volkslieder, no. 3 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2007-07-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 86

My mother said to me, there behind...

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My mother said to me, there behind yonder mountain,
Which has clouds about its peak and mists about its roots,
There grows the herb of forgetting, there it grows in the chasms.
Oh, if I only knew the way there, I would wander for three days
And would pluck the herb and drink it dissolved in wine,
So that I might forget you and your false vows
And your eyes that so often spoke of love to me,
And your sweet, sweet lips, that kissed me a thousand times!

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Translations of titles:
"Das Kraut Vergessenheit" = "The herb of forgetting"
"Das Kraut Vergissmeinnicht" = "The herb forget-me-not"
"Dummer Junge" = "Silly boy"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), "Das Kraut Vergessenheit", appears in Jugendgedichte, in 3. Drittes Buch, in Athen, in Neugriechische Volkslieder, no. 3
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This text was added to the website: 2025-03-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 93