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Ein Mönch sitzt bleich im Beichtstuhl d'rin, Ein schönes Weib kniet zu ihm hin. "Mein Jesu, sei gebenedeit, Doch seine Priester maledeit; Der Alles mir im Leben war, Barg falsch und arg sich im Talar; Verkuppelt' mich mit kalter Ruh, Sprach seinen Segen laut dazu. Mein Herz liebt den, um den es bricht, Den Bauernherren will es nicht!" Sie weint und schweigt. Sie küßt die Hand, Die er ihr reicht halb abgewandt. Die Hände kreuzend auf der Brust Sitzt er und träumt. Ist's Weh, ist's Lust?
Confirmed with Gedichte von J.S. Tauber, Leipzig: Verlag von Carl B. Lorck, 1847, pages 109-110 (above); also confirmed with Für Musik. Lieder, Romanzen und Chöre von J.S. Tauber, Wien: Druck der typografisch-literarisch-artistischen Anstalt (L.C Zamarski & E. Dittmarsch), 1863, page 30 (see notes below)
For the 1863 edition, the following changes were made:
Stanza 3, line 2: "treulos falsch" instead of "falsch und arg"
Stanza 7, line 1: "Arme" instead of "Hände"
Text Authorship:
- by Joseph Samuel Tauber (1822 - 1879), "Der Mönch", appears in Für Musik, in Romanzen [author's text checked 2 times 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- by Walther von Goethe (1818 - 1885), "Der Mönch" [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The monk", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 86
A monk sits pale in the confessional chair, A beautiful women kneels, facing him. "May my Jesus be blessed, But a curse upon his priests; He who was everything to me in life, Secreted himself, false and malicious, in a cassock; With cold equanimity he married me, Spoke the blessing upon [the marriage] loudly. My heart loves him over whom it breaks, It does not want the gentleman farmer!" She weeps and falls silent. She kisses the hand That he, half turned away, extends to her. Crossing his hands upon his breast, He sits and dreams. Is it woe, is it joy?
Note: for a translation of the 1863 edition's version, please make the following substitutions:
Stanza 3, line 2: "faithlessly false" instead of "false and malicious"
Stanza 7, line 1: "arms" instead of "hands"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 Joseph Samuel Tauber (1822 - 1879), "Der Mönch", appears in Für Musik, in Romanzen
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 102