The diffident shepherd | My shepherd, alas! he is diffident!

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Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der bescheidene Schäfer

(Sung text for setting by J. Marx)

See base text

Language: German (Deutsch) after the German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Mein Schäfer, ach! der ist bescheiden!
Er liebt mich, zärtlich liebt er mich;
Der Inbegriff von seinen Freuden,
Sagt er mir öfter, sei nur ich.
Doch bleibt er alle Zeit bescheiden.

Jüngst ließ die Mutter uns allein:
Was denkst du, ist alsdann geschehn?
Da stand er starr gleich einem Steine,
Guckt in den Hut und wollte gehn;
Und ach, wir waren ganz alleine!

Note for stanza 1, line 3: in an earlier edition of Marx's score, this line was "Der Inbegriff von seiner Freuden"

Composition:

Joseph Marx

Lieder und Gesänge

English

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Felix Weisse (1726 - 1804), "Der bescheidne Schäfer"
- Go to the text page.

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El pastor tímid", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The diffident shepherd", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le berger timide", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 66

The diffident shepherd

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Marx)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My shepherd, alas! he is diffident!
He loves me, loves me tenderly;
I am, he often tells me, the sole
Embodiment of all his joys;
But at all times he remains diffident.

Recently my mother left us alone:
What do you think happened then?
There he stood, stiff as a stone,
Gazing into his hat and wanting to leave;
And ah, we were all alone!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Not Applicable [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Felix Weisse (1726 - 1804), "Der bescheidne Schäfer"
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2026-06-17
Line count: 10
Word count: 64