Left all alone | How often have I lain my heart

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by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Verlassensein

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Wie oft hab' ich mein Herz geleget,
Als ich noch jung war, an ihr Herz,
Als noch kein Schmerz mein Herz beweget,
Nur Liebe, Freude, muntrer Scherz.

Jetzt, wo mein Alter ist voll Kummer,
[Sie]¹ tot ist, ich noch lebend bin,
Wo in den Nächten ohne Schlummer
Soll legen ich mein [Herz]² noch hin?

[Hin wo kein Herz mir schlägt entgegen,]³
In tiefer Waldnacht ganz allein
Will ich mein heißes Herz [nur]⁴ legen
An einen kalten stummen Stein!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Leberl

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Justinus Kerners sämtliche poetische Werke in vier Bänden, herausgegeben von Dr. Josef Gaismaier, 2. Band, Leipzig: Max Hesses Verlag, 1880, page 172.

¹ Leberl: "Wo sie"
² Leberl: "Herze"
³ omitted by Leberl
⁴ Leberl: "mir"

Text Authorship:

by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Verlassensein", appears in Winterblüten, in An Sie, nach Ihrem Tode, no. 6, first published 1857 [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 Rudolf Leberl (1884 - 1952), "Verlassensein", op. 22 (Zehn Lieder zur Gitarre nach Gedichten von Justinus Kerner) no. 4 (1925), published 2006 [ voice and guitar ], Frankfurt am Main: Laurentius-Musikverlag [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Left all alone", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-09-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 82

Left all alone

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

How often have I lain my heart,
When I was still young, against her heart,
When no pain yet moved my heart,
Only love, joy, merry jesting.

Now that my old age is full of sorrow,
Now that she is dead, I still alive,
Where, in the sleepless nights,
Might I still lay my heart?

[There where no heart reciprocates my greeting,]¹
All alone in the deep night of the forest,
I shall lay my fervent heart
Only against a cold, mute stone!

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ omitted by Leberl

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Verlassensein", appears in Winterblüten, in An Sie, nach Ihrem Tode, no. 6, first published 1857
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2021-09-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 84