Die blaue Glockenblume
Language: German (Deutsch)
Die blaue Glockenblume
Hast du begehrt von mir; --
O sag', was soll die arme,
Die schlichte Blüte dir?
Du hast sie nur begehret
Im Scherze, froh und leicht;
Daß meine Hand gezittert,
Als ich sie dir gereicht, --
Davon kein leises Ahnen
[In]1 deine Seele zieht;
Du hast sie [wohl]2 vergessen
Noch eh' sie ist verblüht.
Und ob viel süßes Hoffen
Vom Glöcklein mir gehallt,
Mein Hoffen und mein Träumen
Das ist vergangen bald.
[So mag]3 das Glöcklein tönen
Ein leises Grabgeläut,
Wenn ich hinunter senke
Die kurze Seligkeit!
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• J. Lang J. Lang sets stanzas 1-3, 5
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View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Mein Liederbuch. Gedichte von Ottilie Wildermuth, herausgegeben von ihrer Tochter Agnes Willms, Stuttgart: Verlag der Gebrüder Kröner, 1877, page 6.
Note provided by Sharon Krebs: Ottilie Wildermuth’s poems were not published until after her death. Josephine Lang knew her personally and obtained the poems directly from the poet. Therefore the changes noted in the footnotes might not be Lang’s, but rather earlier versions by Wildermuth herself.
1 Lang: "Durch"
2 Lang: "längst"
3 Lang: "Mag mir"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The bluebell", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2006-11-13
Line count: 20
Word count: 91
The bluebell
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
The bluebell,
You asked me for it; --
Oh tell me, of what use is the poor,
The simple blossom to you?
You only asked for it
In jest, happily and lightly;
[That my hand trembled
When I passed it to you, --]1
Of that, no faint perception
Passes [into]2 your soul.
You have [likely]3 forgotten [the flower] -
Even before it wilted!
And if much sweet hoping
Sounded for me from the little bell,
My hoping and my dreaming
Soon passed away.
[Thus may the little bell sound]4
A quiet peal of funeral bells
When I lay to rest
[My] brief happiness!
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Lang changes the punctuation so that these lines are the conclusion of a thought. The translation for the song text should therefore be: "So that my hand trembled / When I passed it to you!"
2 Lang: "through"
3 Lang: "long"
4 Lang: "May the little bell sound for me"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2006-11-13
Line count: 20
Word count: 105