English translations of Duette, opus 105

by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken (1810 - 1882)

1. Es war ein alter König  [sung text not yet checked]
by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken (1810 - 1882), "Es war ein alter König", op. 105 (Duette) no. 1, published 1877 [ 2 voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es war ein alter König,
sein Herz war schwer, sein [Haupt]1 war grau;
der arme alte König,
er nahm eine junge Frau.

Es war ein [schöner]2 Page,
blond war sein [Haupt]3, leicht war sein Sinn;
er trug die [seid'ne]4 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:

See other settings of this text.

View text without footnotes

Confirmed with Neue Gedichte von H. Heine, Zweite Auflage, Hamburg, bei Hoffmann und Campe, 1844, page 28.

1 Diepenbrock: "Haar"
2 Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Zemlinsky: "junger"
3 Wolfrum: "Haar"
4 Goldschmidt: "seidene"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
1. There was an old king
Language: English 
 There was an old king,
 his heart was heavy, his head was gray;
 the poor, old king,
 he took a young wife.
 
 There was a handsome pageboy,
 blond was his hair, light was his manner;
 he carried the silk train
 of the young queen.
 
 Do you know this old song?
 It sounds so sweet, it sounds so troubled!
 They both had to die,
 for they loved each other too much.

Text Authorship:

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


Based on:

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Translation © by Emily Ezust