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Vier Lieder (1903-05)

Song Cycle by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871 - 1942)

1. Es war ein alter König
 (Sung text)

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es war ein alter König,
sein Herz war schwer, sein Haupt war grau;
der arme alte König,
er nahm eine junge Frau.

Es war ein junger Page,
blond war sein Haupt, leicht war sein Sinn;
er trug die seid'ne Schleppe
der jungen Königin.

Kennst du das alte Liedchen?
Es klingt so süß, es klingt so trüb!
Sie mußten beide sterben,
sie hatten sich viel zu lieb.

Text Authorship:

  • by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1830, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 29

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "There was an old king", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Il était un vieux roi", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Joost van der Linden) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
Total word count: 66
Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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