What is it that fills the soul?
Oh, love fills it, love!
It is neither gold nor what it is worth that fills the soul,
Not what the base world desires,
Only love fills it, love!

What is it that calms longing?
Oh, love calms it, love!
It is not titles, status or rank that calms it,
Nor the ringing sound of fame;
Only love calms it, love!

What is it that the heart craves for?
Oh, it craves for love!
It does not languish for touching and kisses,
Nor for indulgence in lust;
It only craves for love.

I would happily give what I have and am,
I would happily give it up for love.
The colourful soap bubbles of the kingdom,
The euphoria of lust, the dream of fame,
What is the point without love?

It is much sweeter to be lowly and poor
And to languish on a devoted breast
Than to be unloved and unloving,
Frittering the day away, or being in the lap
Of lust spending your nights.

She loves me with her heart, she loves me painfully
That one I am thinking of –
Fate, take everything, everything away,
Take peace and glory and the happiness of life;
That one is enough, enough for me.

And if I had to be far away from you, from you,
In mourning for my life,
And if I just knew that you loved me
That you, love of my heart, were still there,
Who would need to pity me?

And if I were in slavery,
In a friendless wilderness,
And I were definitely yours, just yours,
So slavery would be sweet for me
And that wilderness would be Paradise.

And if the darkness of death were to cover
You, sun of my life,
And if I died but with only you thinking of me,
Lamented by you, cried over by you,
So I would definitely die with delight.

It is much better to be young, strong and bold
And die in the arms of love
Than to be unloved and unloving
In the pale lap of dull joys
Becoming old and corrupted.