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O sey nicht so spröde, Du liebliches Kind! Komm, sink an die Brust mir, Und küss' mich geschwind! Verschmähst du die Lippe, Die Liebe dir bot: Ach! Ach! So gräm' ich mich todt. Wie foltert mich Sehnsucht, Wie klopft mir das Herz, Ein Kuß nur besänftigt Den quälenden Schmerz. Und färbet dein Mund sich Für Andere roth: Ach! Ach! So gräm' ich mich todt. Sich küssen sei Sünde, Sagt Mütterchen zwar; Doch glaube mir, Liebchen! Sie redet nicht wahr. Befolgest du dennoch Der Mutter [Verbot]1: Ach! Ach! So gräm' ich mich todt.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Wilhlem Gerhard, Gedichte, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1826, page 40
1 Reissiger: "Gebot"Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Kuß oder Tod" [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 Carl Gottlieb Erfurt (1807 - 1856), "Kuß oder Tod", c1829 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Kuß oder Tod", op. 54 no. 3 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder von Wilhelm Gerhard, no. 3, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798 - 1859), "Kuß oder Tod", op. 69 no. 4, published 1831 [ voice and piano ], from 6 heitere Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung , no. 4, Dresden, Paul [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Tauwitz (1812 - 1894), "O sei nicht so spröde", published 1837 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], from Sechs Lieder für 4 Männerstimmen, no. 2, Breslau, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Kiss or death", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-12
Line count: 24
Word count: 94
Oh, do not be so aloof, You lovely child! Come, lean upon my breast, And kiss me quickly! If you spurn the lips That love offered you: Alas! Alas! Then I shall die of a broken heart. How I am tortured by yearning, How my heart pounds, Only a kiss would quieten The torturing pain. And if your lips should grow Red for others: Alas! Alas! Then I shall die of a broken heart. To be sure, to kiss each other is a sin, Your dear mother says; But believe me, darling! She does not speak the truth. If in spite of that You [take heed of her forbiddance]1 Alas! Alas! Then I shall die of a broken heart.
1 Reissiger: "obey her command"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Kuß oder Tod"
This text was added to the website: 2018-01-03
Line count: 24
Word count: 121