If you have good eyes to see | If you have good eyes to see

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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Translation © by Linda Godry

Wenn du gute Augen hast

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Wenn du gute Augen hast,
Und du schaust in meine Lieder,
Siehst du eine junge Schöne
Drinnen wandeln auf und nieder.

Wenn du gute Ohren hast,
Kannst du gar die Stimme hören,
Und ihr Seufzen, Lachen, Singen
Wird dein armes Herz betören.

Denn sie wird, mit Blick und Wort,
Wie mich selber dich verwirren;
Ein verliebter Frühlingsträumer,
Wirst du durch die Wälder irren.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 16 [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 Johann Wolfgang von Ehrenstein (d. 1870), "Wenn du gute Augen hast", op. 14 (Lieb' und Leben : Neue Lieder, Heft 3: Enttäuschung) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Georg Andreas Henkel (1805 - 1871), "Wenn du gute Augen hast", op. 22 (Sechs Lieder) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Willem de Iongh (1857 - 1931), "Wenn du gute Augen hast", published 1924 [sung text not yet checked]
by Mario van Overeem (1872 - 1946), "Wenn du gute Augen hast", from Neuer Frühling: 44 Lieder, no. 16 [sung text not yet checked]
by Karl Ritter , "Wenn du gute Augen hast", op. 4 (Zwölf Lieder) no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Oscar Nathan Straus (1870 - 1954), "Wenn du gute Augen hast", op. 10 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Linda Godry) , "If you have good eyes to see", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Si tu as de bons yeux", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 63

If you have good eyes to see

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

If you have good eyes to see,
And have a close look at my songs,
You will see a young beauty
Strolling along at will inside.

If you have good ears to listen,
You can even hear the voice,
And her sighs, her laughs, her singing
will beguile your poor heart.

Because she will, by gaze and word,
Just like me confuse you;
A  dreamer drunk from spring and love,
You will roam the woods.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 by Linda Godry, (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 Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 16
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2008-12-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 75