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Nimm dir ein schönes Weib, doch schön mit Maßen, Zu große Schönheit weckt dir Scheu und Bangen. Und nimm sie ja recht fügsam und gelassen, Schlank um die Mitte, schmiegsam wie die Schlangen. Mußt du ihr dann ein [Röckchen]1 machen lassen, Wirst du mit wen'ger Seid' und Futter langen, Und wenn du sie umarmst, ist dir zu Mute, Als hieltst du einen Blumenstrauß umfangen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 64.
1 Gund: "Röcklein"Text Authorship:
- by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 135, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Gund (1865 - 1927), "Guter Rat", op. posth. 73 [ voice and piano ], first printed in manuscript form in 1988 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Joseph Marx (1882 - 1964), "Nimm dir ein schönes Weib", 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 16 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-14
Line count: 8
Word count: 65
Take a beautiful wife, but beautiful in moderation; Too great a beauty will only awaken awe and anxiety within you. And take one that is nicely docile and equable, Slender about the middle, supple as a snake. If you then need to have a skirt made for her, You will get away with less silk and lining, And when you embrace her, you will think That you are holding a bouquet of flowers in your arms.
About the headline (FAQ)
English song title (Gund): Good adviceEnglish song title (Marx): Take a beautiful wife
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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 135, first published 1860
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2013-12-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 76