If I do not touch your body today | If I do not touch your body today

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 Stefan George (1868 - 1933)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wenn ich heut nicht deinen leib berühre

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE ITA

Wenn ich heut nicht deinen leib berühre
Wird der faden meiner seele reissen
Wie zu sehr gespannte sehne.
Liebe zeichen seien trauerflöre
Mir der leidet seit ich dir gehöre.
Richte ob mir solche qual gebühre ·
Kühlung sprenge mir dem fieberheissen
Der ich wankend draussen lehne.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Stefan George, Die Bücher der Hirten- und Preisgedichte, der Sagen und Sänge und der hängenden Gärten. Gesamt-Ausgabe der Werke, Band 3, Berlin, 1930, page 106.

Text Authorship:

by Stefan George (1868 - 1933), no title, appears in Das Buch der hängenden Gärten [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 Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (1874 - 1951), "Wenn ich heut nicht deinen leib berühre", op. 15 no. 8 (1908-9), from Das Buch der hängenden Gärten, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Si avui no toco el teu cos", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "If I do not touch your body today", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Se oggi non mi sarà dato di sfiorare il tuo corpo", copyright © 2009, (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: 8
Word count: 46

If I do not touch your body today

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

If I do not touch your body today
The thread of my soul shall tear
Like an over-tautened sinew.
Crape is a cherished symbol for 
Me, who suffers since I belong to you.
Judge whether such suffering is due me;
Sprinkle cooling drops upon me, the fever-hot one,
Who leans, swaying, outside [of your door].

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Stefan George (1868 - 1933), no title, appears in Das Buch der hängenden Gärten
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-04-12
Line count: 8
Word count: 55