The nightingale | I no longer like my down-filled bed

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by Hermann Löns (1866 - 1914)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Die Nachtigall

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FIN

Ich mag nicht mehr mein Federbett,
Geh garnicht gern hinein;
Ich schlaf die ganze Nacht nicht mehr,
Kannst du nicht bei mir sein.
Nachtigall Nachtigall, laß dein Singen sein,
Nachtigall Nachtigall, ich bin ja so allein;
Hör auf mit deinem Schall,
Du Nachtigall.
 
Die Nacht ist mir noch mal so lang,
Hab' ich dich nicht im Arm;
[Denn]¹ mein Bett ist hart, mein Bett ist kalt,
Einst war es weich und warm.
Nachtigall Nachtigall, laß dein Singen sein,
Nachtigall Nachtigall, ich bin ja so allein;
Hör auf mit deinem Schall,
Du Nachtigall.
 
Die Nacht ist aus, der Tag beginnt,
Ich bin so matt und müd;
Du Nachtigall bist schuld daran
Mit deinem bösen Lied.
Nachtigall Nachtigall, laß dein Singen sein,
Nachtigall Nachtigall, ich bin ja so allein;
Hör auf mit deinem Schall,
Du Nachtigall.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• Y. Kilpinen

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ omitted by Kilpinen

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Löns (1866 - 1914), "Die Nachtigall", appears in Der kleine Rosengarten. Volkslieder, Jena: Eugen Diederich Verlag, pp. 81-2 , first published 1922 [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 Artur Glogger (1927 - 1978), "Die Nachtigall", published 1980 [ voice and piano ], from Die Nachtigall. Sechs ausgewählte Lieder im Volkston nach Texten von Hermann Löns, no. 1, Augsburg: Edition Kronos, Musikverlage Artur Glogger [sung text checked 1 time]
by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Die Nachtigall", <<1944 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The nightingale", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Satakieli", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2012-05-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 135

The nightingale

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I no longer like my down-filled bed,
I enter it not at all gladly;
All through the night I no longer sleep,
If you are not able to be with me.
Nightingale, nightingale, leave off your singing,
Nightingale, nightingale, I am so alone;
Stop your resounding cry,
You nightingale.
 
The night seems twice as long to me,
If I do not have you in my arms;
For my bed is hard, my bed is cold,
Once it was soft and warm.
Nightingale, nightingale, leave off your singing,
Nightingale, nightingale, I am so alone;
Stop your resounding cry,
You nightingale.
 
The night is over, the day begins,
I am so tired and weary;
It is your fault, you nightingale,
With your wicked song.
Nightingale, nightingale, leave off your singing,
Nightingale, nightingale, I am so alone;
Stop your resounding cry,
You nightingale.

Text 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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Löns (1866 - 1914), "Die Nachtigall", appears in Der kleine Rosengarten. Volkslieder, Jena: Eugen Diederich Verlag, pp. 81-2 , first published 1922
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-10-25
Line count: 24
Word count: 140