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Guten Morgen, 's ist Sankt Valentinstag,
So früh vor Sonnenschein
Ich junge Maid am Fensterschlag
Will euer Valentin sein.
Der junge Mann tut Hosen an,
Tät auf die Kammerthür,
Ließ ein die Maid, die als ... Maid
Ging nimmermehr herfür.
Bei Sankt Niklas und Charitas!
Ein unverschämt Geschlecht!
Ein junger Mann thut's, wenn er kann,
Fürwahr, das ist nicht recht.
Sie sprach: Eh' ihr gescherzt mit mir,
Verspracht ihr mich zu frei'n.
Ich bräch's auch nicht, bei'm Sonnenlicht,
Wär'st du nicht kommen herein.
Note: according to The Cambridge Companion to Richard Strauss, ed. by Charles Youmans, Seeger is listed as the translator of Hamlet, but Seeger's translations are quite different. Simrock and Seeger are listed together as the translators for the ten-volume set.
Note (provided by Sharon Krebs): Ophelia’s song is interrupted at several points by various other characters and herself. Those interruptions have not been included above.
Composition:
- Set to music by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Zweites Lied der Ophelia", op. 67, Heft 1 no. 2 (1918)
Text Authorship:
- by Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876), no title, appears in Shakespeare in deutscher Übersetzung, in 6. Hamlet, first published 1868
- sometimes misattributed to Ludwig Wilhelm Friedrich Seeger (1810 - 1864)
Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , appears in Hamlet and misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Go to the general single-text view
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Deuxième chant d'Ophélie", copyright © 2011, (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: 2003-11-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 87
Good morning, it's Valentine's Day,
So long before sunshine
I, a young maid at the window,
Wish to be your valentine.
The young man on some trousers,
Opened up the door to his chamber,
Let the maiden in, who as ... maiden
Nevermore came forth.
By Saint Nicholas and Charity!
A shameless sex!
A young man does it whenever he can,
Truly, that is not right.
She said: Before you jested with me,
You promised to wed me.
By the sunlight, I would not break my word
If you had not come in to me.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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 Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876), no title, appears in Shakespeare in deutscher Übersetzung, in 6. Hamlet, first published 1868 and misattributed to Ludwig Wilhelm Friedrich Seeger (1810 - 1864)
Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , appears in Hamlet and misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2016-11-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 96