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by Simon Dach (1605 - 1659)
Translation sometimes misattributed to Volkslieder (Folksongs) and by Heinrich Albert (1604 - 1651)

Du mein einzig Licht
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Du mein einzig Licht,
Die Lilj und Ros hat nicht,
Was an Farb und Schein
Dir möcht ähnlich sein,
Nur daß dein stolzer Mut
Der Schönheit unrecht thut.

"Trennen wollten wir uns?
Wähnten wir es klug und gut?
Da wir es thaten,
Warum schröckte, wie Mord,
Uns die That?"

Meine Heimat du,
Von solcher Lust und Ruh
Ist der Himmel gar
Wie die Erde bar.
Nur daß dein strenges Wort
Mich wehrt vom süßen Port.

"Ach! Wir kennen uns wenig,
Denn es waltet ein Gott in uns."

Alle Vöglein hier
samt ihrer Melodie
jubilierten nicht
ohn' der Liebe Pflicht
und würden nicht erfreut
durch diese Frühlingzeit.

Darum Liebster laß
uns beid ohn' Unterlaß
reden Tag und Nacht
von der Liebe Macht.
Das schafft dem Herzen Freud,
vertreibt mit Lust die Zeit.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   J. Brahms 

J. Brahms sets stanzas 1, 3

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

  • sometimes misattributed to Volkslieder (Folksongs)
  • by Heinrich Albert (1604 - 1651) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Simon Dach (1605 - 1659) [text unavailable]
    • Go to the text page.

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

  • by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Du mein einzig Licht", WoO. 33 no. 37, published [1894], stanzas 1,3, from Deutsche Volkslieder, no. 37, Berlin, N. Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Ludwig Gellert (1827 - 1913), "Du mein einzig Licht", op. 12 (Vier Gesänge für Sopran (oder Tenor) mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1877 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Frankfurt a/M., Henkel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789 - 1860), "Minnelied" [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by Otto Roquette (1824 - 1896) , "Du mein einzig Licht!", subtitle: "Zu einer Volksmelodie" [an adaptation] ; composed by Anton Deprosse.
      • Go to the text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "You my only light", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Toi mon unique lumière", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 31
Word count: 133

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