Who stands before the door of my chamber?

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by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Unterm Fenster

(Sung text for setting by R. Schumann)

See original

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

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG FRE

Wer ist vor meiner Kammerthür? --
    "Ich bin es," --  ... 
Geh, schier dich fort! was suchst du hier? --
    "Gar Süßes!" --  ... 
Du kommst im Dunkeln, wie ein Dieb. --
    "So fang mich!" --  ... 
Du hast mich wohl ein wenig lieb? --
     "Von Herzen!" --  ... 

Und öffnet' ich nach deinem Wunsch! --
    "O öffne!" --  ... 
Da wär ja Schlaf und Ruhe hin; --
    "Laß hin sein!" --  ... 
Ein Tauber du im Taubenschlag! --
    "Beim Täubchen!" --  ... 
Du girrtest bis zum hellen Tag. --
    "Wohl möglich!" --  ... 

Nein! nimmer lass' ich dich herein! --
    "Thu's dennoch!" --  ... 
Du stelltest wohl dich täglich ein? --
    "Mit Freuden!" --  ... 
Wie keck du bist und was du wagst! --
    "So darf ich?" --  ... 
Daß du's nur keiner Seele sagst! --
    "Gewiß nicht!" --  ...

Composition:

Robert Schumann

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Der kecke Finlay"

Based on:

a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (David K. Smythe) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , 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: 2003-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 155

Under the window

(Sung text translation for setting by R. Schumann)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Who stands before the door of my chamber? --
    "It is I," --  ... 
Go take yourself off! what do you want here? --
    "Something sweet!" --  ... 
You come in darkness like a thief. --
    "Well, catch me then!" --  ... 
I suppose you love me a little? --
    "With all my heart!" --  ... 

And if I opened the door as you would wish --
    "Oh open it!" --  ... 
That would be the end of sleep and rest; --
    "Let it be thus!" --  ... 
You’re like a cock-pigeon in a dovecote! --
    "With the little dove!" --  ... 
You would coo until the bright day dawns. --
    "Quite possibly!" --  ... 

No! I shall never let you in! --
    "Do it anyway!" --  ... 
You would turn up every single day? --
    "Gladly!" --  ... 
How audacious you are and how much you dare! --
    "May I then?" --  ... 
Only don’t you tell a soul! --
    "Definitely not!" --  ...

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Der kecke Finlay"
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2017-08-25
Line count: 24
Word count: 178