English translations of Tragödie, opus 44

by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914)

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1. Entflieh mit mir und sei mein Weib  [sung text not yet checked]
by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Entflieh mit mir und sei mein Weib", op. 44 (Tragödie) no. 1
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Entflieh mit mir und sei mein Weib,
Und ruh' an meinem Herzen aus;
[Fern in der Fremde]1 sei mein Herz
[Dein]2 Vaterland und Vaterhaus.

[Gehst du nicht mit, so sterb ich hier]3
Und du bist einsam und allein;
Und bleibst du auch im Vaterhaus,
Wirst doch wie in der Fremde sein.

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1 Hiller, Mendelssohn, Schumann: "In weiter Ferne"
2 Hiller: "dir"
3 Griffes: "Kommst du nicht mit, so sterb ich hier"; Hiller, Mendelssohn: "Und fliehst du nicht, so sterb' ich hier"; Schumann: "Entfliehn wir nicht, so sterb' ich hier"; Stanford: "Gehst du nicht mit, ich sterbe hier"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
1. Flee with me and be my wife
Language: English 
 Flee with me and be my wife,
 and rest upon my heat;
 in distant lands let my heart
 be your fatherland and your parental home.
 
 If we do not flee, I'll die here
 and you will be lonely and alone;
 and you will remain in your parental house,
 but it will be like a foreign land to you.

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: 8
Word count: 59

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht  [sung text not yet checked]
by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht", op. 44 (Tragödie) no. 2
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht,    
Es fiel auf die [zarten]1 Blaublümelein:
Sie sind verwelket, [verdorret]2.

Ein Jüngling hatte ein Mädchen lieb,
Sie flohen heimlich [von]3 Hause fort,
Es [wußt']4 weder Vater noch Mutter.

Sie sind gewandert hin und her,
Sie haben gehabt weder Glück noch Stern,
Sie sind [verdorben, gestorben]5.

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Confirmed with Neue Gedichte von Heinrich Heine, Zehnte Auflage, Hamburg, Hoffmann und Campe, 1871, page 151. Below the number at the top of the text are the following words: "(Dieses ist ein wirkliches Volkslied, welches ich am Rheine gehört.)" which can be translated "This is a real folksong that I heard on the Rhein". See also Backer-Grøndahl's song, which uses some of this text.

1 Hiller, Mendelssohn: "bunten"
2 Griffes, Walter, Stanford: "verdorrt"
3 Rubinstein: "vom"
4 Hermann, Hiller: "wusst's"
5 Hiller, Mendelssohn, C. Schumann: "gestorben, verdorben"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
2. There fell a frost on a night of Spring
Language: English 
There fell a frost on a night of Spring,
it fell on the delicate blossoms blue:
the blossoms withered, and drooped.

A young man once loved a maiden fair;
in secret they ran away from home,
unknown to their father or mother.

They wandered aimless here and there,
they had neither luck nor aiding star,
they met their ruin, they perished.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 1996 by David Kenneth Smith, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.

    David Kenneth Smith.  Contact: dksmith (AT) geneva.edu


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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 61

Translation © by David Kenneth Smith
3. Auf ihrem Grab, da steht eine Linde  [sung text not yet checked]
by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Auf ihrem Grab, da steht eine Linde", op. 44 (Tragödie) no. 3
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Auf ihrem Grab, da steht eine Linde,
Drin pfeifen die Vögel [und]1 Abendwinde,
Und [drunter sitzt, auf dem grünen]2 Platz,
[Der]3 Müllersknecht mit seinem Schatz.

Die [Winde, die wehen so lind]4 und so schaurig,
Die [Vögel, die singen]5 so süß und [so]6 traurig:
Die schwatzenden Buhlen, [die]7 werden stumm,
Sie weinen und wissen selbst nicht warum.

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1 Griffes, Schumann: "im"
2 Hiller: "drunten sitzt auf dem grünem"
3 Hiller: "Des"
4 Griffes, Schumann: "Winde wehen so lind", Hiller, Mendelssohn: "Winde weh'n so still"
5 Griffes, Hiller, Mendelssohn, Schumann: "Vögel singen"
6 omitted by Hiller
7 Griffes, Hiller, Mendelssohn, Schumann: "sie"

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
3. Over their grave stands a linden tree
Language: English 
 Over their grave stands a linden tree,
 in which the birds are piping in the evening wind,
 and on the grass underneath sits
 the miller's boy with his sweetheart.
 
 The wind blows so mildly and eerily,
 the birds sing so sweetly and mournfully:
 the chattering youngsters, they fall silent;
 they weep and they do not know why.

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:

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 58

Translation © by Emily Ezust