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Bei Dir muß ich mich aller Kunst und des Verdienst's entschlagen, Vom Himmel frei fällt deine Gunst wie Tau an [Maientagen]1: Dem Feind, dem sag' ich: "scheue mich, ich führe scharfes Eisen," Dem Freund, dem sag' ich: "ehre mich, ich will mich würdig weisen." Dem König sag' ich: "gieb mir Gold, ich weiß, ich kann's verdienen,["] Meiner Mutter sag' ich: "sei mir hold, ich hab Dein Blut und Mienen:" -- Doch deine Huld, -- wie Sonnenschein, -- die kann ich nicht verlangen: -- Da muß man fein bescheiden sein und sie geschenkt empfangen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Felix Dahn's Sämtliche Werke poetischen Inhalts, Band XVI, Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1898, pages 66-67.
1 Ritter: "Maienmorgen"Text Authorship:
- by Felix Ludwig Julius Dahn (1834 - 1912), no title, appears in Schlichte Weisen, no. 6 [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 Alexander Ritter (1833 - 1896), "Bei dir muss ich mich aller Kunst", op. 2 no. 3, published 1871 [ voice and piano ], from Schlichte Weisen: Fünf Gedichte von Felix Dahn, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "When I am with you I must put off all artistry", copyright © 2019, (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: 2011-07-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 90
When I am with you I must put off all artistry and meritoriousness, Your favour falls freely from Heaven like dew upon a [day]1 in May: To my enemy I say: "Dread me, I wield sharp steel," To my friend I say: "Honour me, I shall show myself worthy." To the king I say: "Give me gold, I know that I can earn it,["] To my mother I say: "Be good to me, I have your blood and visage." -- But your favour, -- like sunshine, -- that I cannot ask for: -- For that one must be very humble and accept it as a gift.
1 Ritter: "morning"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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 Felix Ludwig Julius Dahn (1834 - 1912), no title, appears in Schlichte Weisen, no. 6
This text was added to the website: 2019-12-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 103