If I knew | If I knew that you would wait

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by Agnes Miegel (1879 - 1964)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wenn ich wüsste

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Wenn ich wüßte, daß Du warten würdest,--
Wandern [würde]¹ ich, wer weiß wie weit.
Haus und Heimat [würde]¹ ich verlassen
Und die [Stätten]² meiner Kinderzeit.

Lachend [würde]¹ ich mit schnellen Schritten,
Durch das dunkle Thal des Todes [gehn]³,
[Wüßte]⁴ ich es nur, ich würde drüben,
Dich und deine Augen [wiedersehn]⁵.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• E. Straesser

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Agnes Miegel, Gedichte, Stuttgart: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1901, page 17.

¹ Straesser: "würd' "
² Straesser: "Stätte"
³ Straesser: "gehen"
⁴ Straesser: "Wüst"
⁵ Straesser: "wieder sehen"

Text Authorship:

by Agnes Miegel (1879 - 1964), "Wenn ich wüßte" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Paul Caro (1859 - 1914), "Wenn ich wüsste", op. 37 (Lieder für eine höhere Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], Wien & Leipzig: Adolf Robitscheck [sung text not yet checked]
by Ewald Straesser (1867 - 1933), "Wenn ich wüsste", op. 20 (Fünf Lieder) no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "If I knew", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website: 2007-05-23
Line count: 8
Word count: 50

If I knew

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

If I knew that you would wait,--
I would go wandering, who knows how far.
I would leave house and homeland 
And the [places]¹ of my childhood.

Laughing, I would, with rapid steps,
Go through the valley of death,
If I but knew that in the beyond I would
See you and your eyes once more.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Straesser: "place"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Agnes Miegel (1879 - 1964), "Wenn ich wüßte"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-01-25
Line count: 8
Word count: 56