My heart is heavy! arise! Take the lute

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by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Mein Herz ist schwer

(Sung text for setting by R. Schumann)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Mein Herz ist schwer! auf! Von der Wand 
  Die Laute, nur sie allein mag ich noch hören;
Entlocke mit geschickter Hand
  Ihr Töne, die das Herz bethören!
Kann noch mein Herz ein Hoffen nähren,
  Es zaubern diese Töne her,
Und birgt mein trocknes Auge Zähren,
  Sie fließen, und mich brennt's nicht mehr!

Nur tief sey, wild der Töne Fluß,
  Und von der Freude weggekehret!
Ja, Sänger, daß ich weinen muß,
  Sonst wird das schwere Herz verzehret!
Denn sieh! vom Kummer ward's genähret;
  Mit stummem Wachen trug es lang;
Und jetzt vom Aeussersten belehret --
  Da brech' es oder heil' im Sang

Composition:

Robert Schumann

Myrten

Text Authorship:

by Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873), "Die Laute", appears in Israelitische Gesänge, no. 9, first published 1821

Based on:

a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "My soul is dark", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 9, adaptation of I Samuel 16:14-23, first published 1815
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

CAT Catalan (Català) (Marta Garcia Cadena) , "De les melodies hebrees", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Mijn hart is zwaar", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Mon cœur est sombre", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "E' pesante il mio cuore", copyright © 2010, (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: 2003-11-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 103

My heart is heavy! arise! Take the lute

(Sung text translation for setting by R. Schumann)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My heart is heavy! arise! Take the lute 
  From the wall, only it alone I still like to hear;
With a skilful hand entice from it
  Sounds that beguile the heart .
If my heart can still nurture a hope,
  These sounds shall magically call it forth,
And if my dry eyes harbour tears,
  They shall flow, and I shall no longer be burnt by pain!

Only deep, wild be the flow of the notes,
  And turned away from joy!
Yea, singer, they must be such that I must weep,
  Otherwise my heavy heart shall be consumed!
For look! It was nourished by anguish;
  With mute watching it long bore its burden;
And now, having been taught by the extremes of pain --
  It must break or heal in song.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2010 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 Karl Julius Körner (1793 - 1873), "Die Laute", appears in Israelitische Gesänge, no. 9, first published 1821
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "My soul is dark", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 9, adaptation of I Samuel 16:14-23, first published 1815
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2010-06-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 133