Kiss or death | Oh, do not be so aloof

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by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

O sey nicht so spröde

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  O sey nicht so spröde,
Du liebliches Kind!
Komm, sink an die Brust mir,
Und küss' mich geschwind!
Verschmähst du die Lippe,
Die Liebe dir bot:
Ach! Ach!
So gräm' ich mich todt.

  Wie foltert mich Sehnsucht,
Wie klopft mir das Herz,
Ein Kuß nur besänftigt
Den quälenden Schmerz.
Und färbet dein Mund sich
Für Andere roth:
Ach! Ach!
So gräm' ich mich todt.

  Sich küssen sei Sünde,
Sagt Mütterchen zwar;
Doch glaube mir, Liebchen!
Sie redet nicht wahr.
Befolgest du dennoch
Der Mutter Verbot:
Ach! Ach!
So gräm' ich mich todt.

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Confirmed with Wilhlem Gerhard, Gedichte, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1826, page 40

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Kuß oder Tod" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-12-12
Line count: 24
Word count: 94

Kiss or death

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Oh, do not be so aloof,
You lovely child!
Come, lean upon my breast,
And kiss me quickly!
If you spurn the lips
That love offered you:
Alas! Alas!
Then I shall die of a broken heart.

  How I am tortured by yearning,
How my heart pounds,
Only a kiss would quieten
The torturing pain.
And if your lips should grow
Red for others:
Alas! Alas!
Then I shall die of a broken heart.

  To be sure, to kiss each other is a sin,
Your dear mother says;
But believe me, darling!
She does not speak the truth.
If in spite of that
You take heed of her forbiddance
Alas! Alas!
Then I shall die of a broken heart.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Kuß oder Tod"
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This text was added to the website: 2018-01-03
Line count: 24
Word count: 121