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Wenn [wir's]1 uns gestehen, Wie lieb wir uns sind, Wer braucht's noch zu wissen, Mein herziges Kind! Kein Mensch kann dein Lächeln Wie ich ja verstehn, Kein Mensch kann ins Herz mir Wie du ja noch sehn! Und küssen im Stillen Wir Zwei [nun uns]2 heiß, Das ist ja das Schönste, Daß Niemand es weiß! Das ist ja das Schönste, Mein herziges Kind, Daß wir nur es wissen, Wie lieb wir uns sind!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, pages 157-158.
1 Abt: "wir"2 Abt: "uns nun"
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Wenn wir's uns gestehen", appears in Liederbuch, in 2. Liebeslieder, no. 177 [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 Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Wenn wir uns gestehen", op. 369a (4 Gedichte für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1869 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Haslinger; note: this opus number was used later in 1870 by André in Offenbach, so we have added an 'a' to distinguish this opus [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bernhard Bogler (1821 - 1902), "Wenn wir's uns gestehen", published 1878 [ men's chorus ], from Acht neue Gesänge für Männerchor, no. 8, St. Gallen: Sonderegger [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josef Häser (b. 1846) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philipp Tietz (1816 - 1878) [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-04
Line count: 16
Word count: 75
When we admit to one another How dear we are to each other, Who else needs to know it, My sweet child! For no one can understand Your smiles as I can, No one else can look into My heart as you can! And if we two now kiss each other Fervently in the quiet, That no one knows of it Is the most beautiful thing! For that is the most beautiful thing, My sweet child, That only we know How dear we are to one another!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Wenn wir's uns gestehen" = "When we admit to one another"
"Wenn wir uns gestehen" = "When we admit to one another"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 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 Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Wenn wir's uns gestehen", appears in Liederbuch, in 2. Liebeslieder, no. 177
This text was added to the website: 2026-01-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 87