Die Weinende | Ich seh dich weinen! ach! die Zähre

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)

Translation by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873)

I saw thee weep

Language: English

Our translations: DUT

I saw thee weep - the big bright tear
Came o'er that eye of blue;
And then methought it did appear
A violet dropping dew --
I saw thee smile  -- the sapphire's blaze
Beside thee ceased to shine;
It could not match the living rays
That fill'd that glance of thine.

As clouds from yonder sun receive
A deep and mellow dye,
Which scarce the shade of coming eve
Can banish from the sky --
Those smiles unto the moodiest mind
Their own pure joy impart;
Their sunshine leaves a glow behind
That lightens o'er the heart.

View text with all available footnotes

Note: see also Bécquer's Imitación de Byron

Text Authorship:

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "I saw thee weep", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 10 [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 Adolph Martin Foerster (1854 - 1927), "I saw thee weep", op. 34 (Two songs) no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 - 1837), "I saw thee weep", published 1826 [sung text not yet checked]
by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "I saw thee weep", op. 323 (Sieben Lieder nach George Lord Byron) no. 3 (2021) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "I saw thee weep", published 1815, from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873) , "Die Weinende", appears in Israelitische Gesänge, no. 10 ; composed by Robert Schumann.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , "Thränen und Lächeln", written 1820, appears in Hebräische Gesänge ; composed by M. Henle, Carl Loewe.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ferruccio Busoni.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870) , "Ich sah die Thräne", appears in Hebräische Melodien, no. 10 ; composed by Emil Bezecný, Max Seifriz.

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Ik zag je traan", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Je te vis pleurer", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 10

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 94

Die Weinende

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Ich seh dich weinen! ach! die Zähre 
  Schwamm auf des Auges Blau;
Und dieses Auge, dacht' ich, wäre 
  Ein Veilchen, naß vom Thau.
Ich sah dich lächeln; Saphirschimmer 
  Trat matt vor dir zurück,
Den regen Glanz erreicht' er nimmer,
  Der strahlt aus deinem Blick.

Wie Wolken von der Sonn' empfangen
  Ein tiefes mildes Licht,
Und kommt der Abend auch gegangen,
  Ganz nimmt er's ihnen nicht:
So leihet seine eig'ne Wonne
  Dieß Lächeln selbst dem Schmerz,
Ein Glühen bleibt von dieser Sonne,
  Das süß durchströmt das Herz!

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• R. Schumann

R. Schumann sets stanza 1

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Julius Körner (translator), Lord Byron’s Poesien, Erstes Bändchen, Zwickau: im Verlage der Gebrüder Schumann, 1821, page 16

Text Authorship:

by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873), "Die Weinende", appears in Israelitische Gesänge, no. 10 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "I saw thee weep", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 10
- 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 Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Die Weinende", 1827/28, stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], from Elf Jugendlieder, no. 1, note: published as "op. posth. 21", no. 2, in 1933, Wien (Vienna), Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 86