by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939)
Saphire sind die Augen dein
Language: German (Deutsch)
[Saphire]1 sind die Augen dein,
Die lieblichen, die süßen.
O, dreimal glücklich ist der Mann,
Den sie mit Liebe grüßen.
[ ... ]
Rubinen sind die Lippen dein,
Man kann nicht schönre sehen.
O, dreimal glücklich ist der Mann,
Dem Liebe sie gestehen.
O, kennt ich nur den glücklichen Mann,
O, daß ich ihn nur fände,
So recht allein im grünen Wald --
Sein Glück hätt' bald ein Ende.
F. Allitsen sets stanzas 1, 3-4
K. Stougie sets stanzas 3, 1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Héritte-Viardot: "Saphiren"
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 56
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Your eyes are sapphires", copyright ©
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 86
Two sapphires those dear eyes of thine See original
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Two sapphires those dear eyes of thine,
Soft as the skies above thee;
Thrice happy is the man to whom
Those dear eyes say: "I love thee."
...
Two rubies are those lips of thine,
Unrivall'd in fresh glory;
Thrice happy is the man to whom
They whisper their love story.
Could I but meet that lucky man,
But meet that happy lover --
Meet him alone in some dark wood, --
His joy would soon be over. . .
Composition:
- Set to music by Frances Allitsen (1848 - 1912), "Two sapphires those dear eyes of thine", published 1892, stanzas 1,3-4 [ voice and piano ], from Album of Eight Songs [later reissued as Eight Songs from Poems by Heine], no. 2, London, R. Cocks, also set in German (Deutsch)
Text Authorship:
- by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939), "Saphire sind die Augen dein", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, page 111, first published 1887
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 56
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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-10-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 101