English translations of Sechs Lieder, opus 4

by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe

1. Wenn ich an dich gedenke  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Wenn ich an dich gedenke", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wenn ich an dich gedenke
Bei stiller Nacht allein,
Das geht mir durch die Seele
Wie lichter Mondenschein;
Das geht mit durch die Seele
Wie lieblich Harfenspiel,
Mir ist, ich hatte nimmer
Der Freuden also viel.

Mein Herz ist wie ein Ringlein
Von eitel güldnen Glast,
Du bist die klare Perle,
Und bist darein gefaßt.
So wie die Perl' im Golde,
So funkelst du darin,
Und trägst auch mich beschlossen
So fest in deinem Sinn.

O dank' dir's Gott, Herzliebste,
Viel tausend, tausendmal,
So viel als Veilchen blühen
Zu Ostern tief im Thal!
So viel als Veilchen blühen,
So oft gedenk' ich dein;
Das geht mir durch die Seele
Wie lichter Mondenschein.

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by Emanuel Geibel (1815 - 1884)
1. When I Think Upon You
Language: English 
When I think about you
Alone at night,
It pierces my soul
Like bright moonlight;
It pierces my soul
Like lovely harp music,
And feels as though I have never
Felt so much joy. 

My heart is like a tiny ring
Of pure, golden glass,
You are a shimmering pearl
Set within it.
And like a pearl set in gold,
You sparkle there,
And, in turn, clasp me
Securely within your heart.

Oh, I thank God for you, dearest heart,
A thousand thousand times over,
As many as there are violets blooming
Deep in the valley at Easter!
As many as there are violets blooming,
Is how often I think of you;
It pierces my soul
Like bright moonlight.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Michael P Rosewall, (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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This text was added to the website: 2026-08-03
Line count: 24
Word count: 119

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall
2. Und wüßten's die Blumen, die kleinen  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Und wüßten's die Blumen, die kleinen", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
[Und]1 wüßten's die Blumen, die kleinen,
Wie tief verwundet mein Herz,
Sie würden mit mir weinen,
Zu heilen meinen Schmerz.

Und wüßten's die Nachtigallen,
Wie ich so traurig und krank,
Sie ließen fröhlich erschallen
Erquickenden Gesang.

Und wüßten sie mein Wehe,
Die [goldnen]2 Sternelein,
Sie kämen aus [ihrer Höhe]3,
Und sprächen Trost mir ein.

[Die alle]4 können's nicht wissen,
Nur [eine]5 kennt meinen Schmerz;
[Sie]6 hat ja selbst zerrissen,
Zerrissen mir das Herz.

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Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg, 1827, page 128.

Note: Christian Jost's setting begins "Zerrissen mir das Herz" (the last line) and then follows the rest of the text.

1 Jost: "Zerrissen mir das Herz./ Und"
2 Jost, Schumann: "goldenen"; Lenz: "kleinen"
3 Lenz: "ihren Höhen"
4 André, Jost, Schumann: "Sie alle"; Lenz: "Sie alle, sie"
5 Hensel: "einer"; Lenz: "eine, die"
6 Hensel: "Er"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
2. And if the blooms - the small ones - knew
Language: English 
And if the blooms - the small ones - knew
How deeply wounded is my heart,
They would weep with me
To heal my pain.

And if the nightingales knew
How sad and ill I am,
They would let forth merrily
A refreshing song.

And if they knew my woe -
The little golden stars -
They would come down from their heights
And speak their consolation to me.

But all of them could not know this,
Only one knows my pain;
She herself has indeed torn,
Torn my heart in two.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Paul Hindemith, (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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Line count: 16
Word count: 88

Translation © by Paul Hindemith
3. Spuck  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Spuck", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 3, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ich blicke hinab in die Gasse,
Dort drüben hat sie gewohnt;
Das öde, verlassene Fenster,
Wie hell bescheint's der Mond.

Es gibt so viel zu beleuchten;
O holde Strahlen des Lichts,
Was [webt]1 ihr denn gespenstisch
Um jene Stätte des Nichts!

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1 Berg: "wollt"

by (Christian) Friedrich Hebbel (1813 - 1863)
3. In the lane
Language: English 
I gaze down the lane:
Over there, she used to live;
That desolate, abandoned window,
How brightly does the moon shine on it!

There is so much to illuminate;
Oh lovely beams of light,
Why do you weave so eerily
About this place of nothingness?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Line count: 8
Word count: 45

Translation © by Emily Ezust
4. Verrathene Liebe  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Verrathene Liebe", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 4, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Da nachts wir uns küßten, o Mädchen,
hat keiner uns zugeschaut.
Die Sterne, die standen am Himmel,
wir haben den Sternen getraut.

Es ist ein Stern gefallen,
der hat dem Meer uns verklagt,
da hat das Meer es dem Ruder,
das Ruder dem Schiffer gesagt.

Da sang [der selbige]1 Schiffer
es seiner Liebsten vor.
Nun singen's auf Straßen und Märkten
die [Knaben und Mädchen]2 im Chor.3

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1 Zierau: "derselbe"
2 Zierau: "Mädchen und Knaben"
3 Humperdinck adds 
Sie singen von unsrer Liebe,
von Wellen und Sternenlicht.
Lass Liebste, sie singen und raunen:
wir küssen und hören sie nicht!

by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838)
4. Betrayed love
Language: English 
That night we kissed each other, o maiden,
no one was observing us.
The stars, which stood in the sky -
we confided only in those stars.
 
It was one star that fell,
and accused us to the sea;
then the sea told it to a rudder,
and the rudder told it to a sailor.
 
That same sailor sang it
to his sweetheart.
Now, on the streets and in the market,
the boys and girls sing of it in chorus.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 80

Translation © by Emily Ezust
5. Siehst du das Meer  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Siehst du das Meer", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Siehst du das Meer? Es glänzt auf seiner Fluth
Der Sonne Pracht;
Doch in der Tiefe, wo die Perle ruht,
Ist finstre Nacht.

Das Meer bin ich. In stolzen Wogen rollt
Mein wilder Sinn,
Und meine Lieder ziehn wie Sonnengold
Darüber hin.

Sie flimmern oft von zauberhafter Lust,
Von Lieb' und Scherz;
Doch schweigend blutet in verborg'ner Brust
Mein dunkles Herz.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel, Berlin: Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1845, page 143.


by Emanuel Geibel (1815 - 1884)
5.
Language: English 
Do you see the ocean? Upon its waters shines
The splendour of the sun;
But in the depths where the pearl rests,
It is dark night.

I am the ocean. In proud waves my wild
Spirit rolls,
And my songs pass like the gold of the sun
Over it and away.

They often flicker with magical joy,
With love and jesting;
But, concealed in my bosom, silently bleeds
My dark heart.

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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This text was added to the website: 2025-08-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
6. Gondoliera  [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Gondoliera", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich
Language: German (Deutsch) 
O komm zu mir, wenn durch die Nacht
Wandelt das Sternenheer,
Dann schwebt mit uns in Mondespracht
Die Gondel übers Meer.
Die Luft ist weich wie [Liebesscherz]1,
Sanft spielt [der goldne]2 Schein,
Die [Zither]3 klingt und zieht dein Herz
Mit in die Lust hinein.
O komm zu mir, wenn durch die Nacht
Wandelt das Sternenheer,
Dann schwebt mit uns in Mondespracht
Die Gondel übers Meer.

[Das ist für Liebende die Stund',
Liebchen, wie ich und du;]4
So friedlich [blaut]5 des Himmels Rund,
Es schläft [das Meer in Ruh]6.
Und wie es schläft, [da]7 sagt der [Blick]8,
Was [keine]9 Zunge spricht,
[Die Lippe]10 zieht sich [nicht]11 zurück,
[Und wehrt dem Kusse nicht.]12
O komm zu mir, wenn durch die Nacht
Wandelt das Sternenheer,
Dann schwebt mit uns in Mondespracht
Die Gondel übers Meer.

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1 Grimm: "Liebesschmerz" [sic]
2 Marschner: "im gold'nem"
3 Hensel: "Cither"
4 Schumann: "Dies ist für sel'ge Lieb' die Stund,/ Liebchen, o komm und schau,"
5 Grimm: "ruht"; Schumann: "strahlt"
6 Schumann: "des Meeres Blau"
7 Schumann: "so"
8 Grimm: "Mund"
9 Blumenthal, Grimm, Hensel, Petzold, Schumann, Raff: "nie die"
10 Schumann: "Das Auge"
11 Esser: "nie"
12 Schumann: "zurück die Seele nicht"

by Emanuel Geibel (1815 - 1884)
6. Gondola song
Language: English 
Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!
The air is as soft as love's teasing,
the golden glow is playing gently. 
The zither sounds and draws your heart
along with it into joy. 
Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!

This is the blessed hour of love!
My darling, oh come and see!
The heavenly vault is glowing so peacefully,
the blueness of the sea is sleeping!
And as it sleeps, our glances speak
what our lips never dare to say. 
Our eyes do not retreat,
our souls do not shrink back. 
Oh come to me, when the legion of stars
wanders through the night!
Then, in the glory of moonlight,
the gondola will gently float with us over the sea!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 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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This text was added to the website: 2008-06-26
Line count: 24
Word count: 166

Translation © by Sharon Krebs