Ah! to love thus is a misery

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by Georg Hesekiel (1819 - 1874)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ach! so zu lieben ist eine Pein

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ach!  so zu lieben ist eine Pein, 
Liebst Du mich, sag mir:  Ja oder Nein! 
Ach!  was erlitt ich, seit ich Dich sah!
Sag' mir doch endlich, Nein oder Ja!  

Hoffe kein Wörtchen, groß oder klein: 
Eh' Du mir sagest:  Ja oder Nein! 
Wochen vergingen, Monde beinah, 
Und noch nicht hör' ich, nicht Nein, nicht Ja! 

Alle mein Sehnen, still wird es sein, 
Hör' ich ein ernstes Ja oder Nein!
Lieben wird Sterben, Sterben, ja, ja, 
Höre ich niemals:  Nein oder Ja!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Georg Hesekiel, Der Patrizier und sein Haus: eine Nürnbergische Geschichte, zweiter Theil, Berlin: Otto Janke, 1861, page 110. Appears in Fünftes Kapitel.

Text Authorship:

by Georg Hesekiel (1819 - 1874), no title, appears in Der Patrizier und sein Haus: eine Nürnbergische Geschichte [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 Albert Hermann Dietrich (1829 - 1908), "Ja oder Nein", op. 16 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Bertram Kottmann , Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website: 2020-07-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 82

Ah! to love thus is a misery

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Ah! to love thus is a misery,
Do you love me, tell me: yes or no?
Ah! what I have suffered since I saw you!
Tell me finally, no or yes!

I hope for no other word, large or small:
Before you tell me: yes or no!
Weeks have passed, months almost,
And still I hear neither no nor yes!

All my yearning, it shall be assuaged,
If I hear a solemn yes or no!
Love shall die, die, yes, yes,
If I never hear: no or yes!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Ja oder Nein" = "Yes or no"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 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 Georg Hesekiel (1819 - 1874), no title, appears in Der Patrizier und sein Haus: eine Nürnbergische Geschichte
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2021-03-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 88