English translations of Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte, opus 6

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

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1. Spanisches Lied
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Spanisches Lied", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 1 (1852), published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
In dem Schatten meiner Locken
Schlief mir mein Geliebter ein.
Weck' ich ihn nun auf? -- Ach nein!

Sorglich strählt' ich meine krausen
Locken täglich in der Frühe,
Doch umsonst ist meine Mühe,
Weil die Winde sie zerzausen.
Lockenschatten, Windessausen
Schläferten den Liebsten ein.
Weck' ich ihn nun auf? -- Ach nein!

Hören muß ich, wie ihn gräme,
Daß er schmachtet schon so lange,
Daß ihm Leben gäb und nähme
Diese meine braune Wange,
Und er nennt mich seine Schlange,
Und doch schlief er bei mir ein.
Weck' ich ihn nun auf? -- Ach nein!

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Confirmed with Spanisches Liederbuch von Emanuel Geibel und Paul Heyse, Berlin, Verlag von Wilhelm Herz, 1852, p. 57.

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)
1.
Language: English 
In the shadow of my tresses
My beloved has fallen asleep.
Shall I awaken him now? Ah, no!

Carefully I comb my ruffled
Locks, early every day;
Yet for nothing is my trouble,
For the wind makes them dishevelled yet again.
The shadows of my tresses, the whispering of the wind,
Have lulled my darling to sleep.
Shall I awaken him now? Ah, no!

I must listen to him complain
That he pines for me so long,
That life is given and taken away from him
By this, my brown cheek,
And he calls me a snake;
Yet he fell asleep by me.
Shall I awaken him now? Ah, no!

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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Translation of title "In dem Schatten meiner Locken" = "In the shadow of my tresses"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 110

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Der Frühling
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Der Frühling", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 2 (1852), published 1854, stanzas 1-2,4 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es lockt und säuselt um den Baum:
Wach auf aus deinem Schlaf und Traum,
Der Winter ist zerronnen.
Da schlägt er frisch den Blick empor,
Die Augen sehen hell hervor
Ans goldne Licht der Sonnen.

Es zieht ein Wehen sanft und lau,
Geschaukelt in dem Wolkenbau
Wie Himmelsduft hernieder.
Da werden alle Blumen wach,
Da tönt der Vögel schmelzend Ach,
Da kehrt der Frühling wieder.

 ... 

Es weht der Wind den Blütenstaub
Von Kelch zu Kelch, von Laub zu Laub,
Durch Tage und durch Nächte.
Flieg auch, mein Herz, und flattre fort,
Such hier ein Herz und such es dort,
Du triffst vielleicht das Rechte.

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Baptist Rousseau (1802 - 1867), first appeared in Spiele der lyrischen und dramatischen Muse, first published 1826

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by Johann Baptist Rousseau (1802 - 1867)
2. The spring
Language: English 
The wind murmurs alluringly about the tree:
Awaken from your sleep and your dream,
The frost of winter has thawed.
It casts its gaze briskly upward,
Its eyes look brightly upon
The golden light of the sun.

A gentle, warm breeze wafts
and rocks in the mass of clouds,
Downward like the fragrance of heaven.
Then all the flowers awaken,
The little birds sing melting sighs,
And Spring returns once more.

[ ... ]

The wind wafts the pollen
From calyx to calyx, from leaf to leaf,
Throughout the day and throughout the night.
Fly also, my heart, and flutter forth,
Search here and search there for another heart -
Perhaps you will meet the right one.

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: 24
Word count: 154

Translation © by Emily Ezust
3. Nachwirkung
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Nachwirkung", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 3 (1852), published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Sie ist gegangen, die Wonnen versanken,
Nun glühen die Wangen, nun rinnen die Thränen;
Es schwanken die kranken,
Die heißen Gedanken,
Es pocht das Herz in Wünschen und Sehnen.

Und hab' ich den Tag mit Andacht begonnen,
Tagüber gelebt in stillem Entzücken,
So leb' ich jetzt träumend,
Die Arbeit versäumend
Von dem, was sie schenkte in Worten und Blicken.

So hängen noch lang nach dem Scheiden des Tages
In säuselnder Nachtluft, beim säuselnden Winde,
Die Bienlein wie trunken
Und wonneversunken
An zitternde Blüthen der duftigen Linde.

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by Alfred von Meißner (1822 - 1885)
3. After-effect
Language: English 
She has gone, the bliss has sunk,
Now my cheeks glow, now tears run,
I'm reeling with sickly
feverish thoughts,
My heart pounds with desire and longing.

And if I'd begun the day with prayers,
And lived each day in quiet delight,
Now I live in a dreamy world,
Neglecting my work
To think of what she bestowed on me in words and gazes.

Thus do bees hang, long after the day has departed,
In the [spring]1 breezes of night and whispering winds,
As if intoxicated
And drowned in rapture,
On the trembling blossoms of the fragrant Linden tree.

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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1 Brahms: "rustling"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 100

Translation © by Emily Ezust
4. Juchhe!
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Juchhe!", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 4 (1852), published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wie ist doch die Erde so schön, so schön!
Das wissen die Vögelein:
Sie heben ihr leicht' Gefieder,
Und singen so fröhliche Lieder
In den blauen Himmel hinein.

Wie ist doch die Erde so schön, so schön!
Das wissen die Flüss' und Seen:
Sie malen im klaren Spiegel
Die Gärten und Städt' und Hügel,
Und die Wolken, die drüber geh'n!

Und Sänger und Maler wissen es,
Und es wissen's viel and're Leut'!
Und wer's nicht malt, der singt es,
Und wer's nicht singt, dem klingt es
Im Herzen vor lauter Freud'!

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by Robert Reinick (1805 - 1852)
4. How beautiful the earth is!
Language: English 
 How beautiful, how beautiful the earth is!
 The little birds know that;
 They lift their airy feathers
 And sing such joyous songs,
 And sing unto the blue heavens.

 How beautiful, how beatiful the earth is!
 The rivers and lakes know this;
 They paint in their clear mirrors
 The gardens and cities and hills,
 And the clouds that drift above!

 And singers and painters know it,
 And so do many other folk;
 And he who does not paint it, sings it,
 And he who does not sing it,
 His heart rings with it in sheer joy!

Text Authorship:

  • by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "How beautiful the earth is!", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 96

Translation © by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949)
5. Wie die Wolke nach der Sonne
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Wie die Wolke nach der Sonne", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 5 (1853), published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wie die Wolke nach der Sonne
Voll Verlangen irrt und bangt,
Und durchglüht vom Himmelswonne
Sterbend ihr am Busen hangt;

Wie die Sonnenblume richtet
Auf die Sonn' ihr Angesicht
Und nicht eh'r auf sie verzichtet
Bis ihr eig'nes Auge bricht;

Wie der Aar auf Wolkenpfade
Sehnend steigt in's Himmelszelt
Und berauscht vom Sonnenbade
Blind zur Erde niederfällt:

So auch muß ich schmachten, bangen,
Späh'n und trachten, dich zu seh'n,
Will an deinen Blicken hangen
Und an ihrem Glanz vergeh'n.

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by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 - 1874)
5. As the cloud for the sun
Language: English 
As the cloud for the sun
yearns, and wanders anxiously,
And, warmed through wih heavenly bliss,
Hangs on its breast as it dies:

As the sunflower turns
To the sun its gaze
And does not refrain
Until its own eye breaks:

As the eagle on its path of clouds
Yearningly ascends in heaven's tent,
And is intoxicated by the bath of sunlight,
And falls blindly to the earth:

So also must I, too, pine anxiously, 
Peering and trying to see you,
To hang on your gaze
And from its brilliance, perish.

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.


Based on:

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Translation of title "Wie die Wolke nach der Sonne" = "As the cloud for the sun"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 91

Translation © by Emily Ezust
6. Nachtigallen schwingen
 (Sung text)
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Nachtigallen schwingen", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 6 (1853), published 1854 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Leipzig, Senff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
   Nachtigallen schwingen
   Lustig ihr Gefieder;
   Nachtigallen singen
   Ihre alten Lieder.
   Und die Blumen alle,
   Sie erwachen wieder
   Bei dem Klang und Schalle
   Aller dieser Lieder.

Und meine Sehnsucht wird zur Nachtigall
Und fliegt in die blühende Welt hinein,
Und fragt bei den Blumen überall:
Wo mag doch mein, mein Blümchen sein?

    Und die Nachtigallen
    Schwingen ihren Reigen
    Unter Laubeshallen
    Zwischen Blütenzweigen,
    von den Blumen allen --
    Aber ich muß schweigen.
    Unter ihnen steh' ich
    Traurig sinnend still;
    Eine Blume seh' ich,
    Die nicht blühen will.

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by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 - 1874)
6. Nightingales beat
Language: English 
Nightingales beat
Merrily their wings,
Nightingales sing
Their old songs.
And all the flowers,
They awaken again
To the clangor and sound
Of all these songs.

And my yearning becomes a nightingale
And flies off in the blooming world,
And asks the flowers everywhere,
Where my little flower is?

And the nightingales
Dance their circle-dance
In the halls of the bowers
Between the blossoming branches;
Among all the flowers,
however, I must be silent.
Among them I remain
Silent with my mournful thoughts:
One flower do I see,
That will not bloom.

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.


Based on:

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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 92

Translation © by Emily Ezust