by
John Donne (1572 - 1631)
Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her...
Language: English
Our translations: FRE GER
Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her last debt
To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her Soule early into Heaven ravished,
Wholly on heavenly things my mind is sett.
Here the admyring her my mind did whett
To seeke thee God; so streams do shew their head;
But though I have found thee and thou my thirst hast fed,
A holy thirsty dropsy melts mee yett,
But why should I begg more love, when as thou
Dost wooe my soul for hers: off'ring all thine:
And dost not only feare lest I allow
My love to Saints and Angels, things divine,
But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt
[Lest the world, Fleshe]1, yea, Devill putt thee out.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• J. Hall About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Hall: "Least in the world. Fleshe"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Since she whom I lov'd", op. 35 no. 6 (1945), published 1946 [ high voice and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Geoffrey Burgon (b. 1941), "Since she whom I loved", 2001? [ voice and piano ], from Heavenly Things, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Since she whom I lov’d", 2013, first performed 2014 [ tenor and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne - 9 Songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Daniel Johannsen) , copyright © 2020, (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: 14
Word count: 125
Da nun jene, die ich liebte, der Natur...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Da nun jene, die ich liebte, der Natur und sich selbst
die letzte Schuld bezahlt hat — und mein Gut tot ist —
und ihre Seele früh in den Himmel entführt wurde,
sind meine Gedanken ganz und gar auf himmlische Dinge gerichtet.
Hier hat meine Bewunderung für sie meinen Sinn geschliffen,
um dich, Gott, zu suchen; so zeigen die Fluten ihre Quelle;
doch obwohl ich dich fand und du meinen Durst gestillt hast,
löst mich eine heilige, gierige Wassersucht auf.
Aber weshalb sollte ich um mehr Liebe bitten, wenn du meine Seele
ohnedies um ihretwillen umwirbst, mir all das Deine anbietest
und nicht nur befürchtest, dass ich meine Liebe bloß
Heiligen, Engeln und göttlichen Dingen überlasse;
aber du bezweifelst in deiner zärtlichen Eifersucht,
dass die Welt, das Fleisch, ja, der Teufel dich nicht auslösche.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Since she whom I lov'd" = "Da nun jene, die ich liebte"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2020 by Daniel Johannsen, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2020-10-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 134
