Early death | Just as the waves come to rest

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sometimes misattributed to Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856) and by Friedrich Georg Christoph Philipp Mayer (1804 - 1857)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs, Harald Krebs

Frühes Sterben

(Sung text for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Wie die Wellen still sich legen
  Nach dem leichten Abendwind,
Wie die Mutter sorgsam leget
  In den Schlaf ihr liebes Kind;
 
Möchte ich mein heißes Sehnen
  In der Seele wiegen ein,
Und die alte schlimme Klage
  Sollt' damit verklungen seyn.
 
Spielend mit den Frühlingsluften
  Wird die Blume rosenroth,
Aber in dem zarten Kelche
  Schlummert auch ihr früher Tod.
 
So geschieht's auch meiner Liebe
  In dem stets bewegten Herz,
Hat ihr Lieben auch begonnen,
  Fühlt sie schon des Todes Schmerz.

Composition:

Josephine Lang

Text Authorship:

sometimes misattributed to Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
by Friedrich Georg Christoph Philipp Mayer (1804 - 1857), "Frühes Sterben"

Go to the general single-text view

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) (Harald Krebs) , "Early death", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Joanna Lonergan , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2005-03-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 84

Early death

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Just as the waves come to rest
  After the soft evening breeze,
Just as a mother solicitously
  places her dear child down to sleep,
 
Thus would I like to rock to sleep
  The fervent yearning in my soul,
And the old, evil lament
  Would therewith have faded away.
 
Playing with the breezes of spring,
  The flower turns rose-red,
But in the tender chalice
  Slumbers too its early death.
 
Thus it happens to my love as well,
  In my ever-restless heart;
As soon as its loving has begun
  It already feels the pangs of death.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Sharon Krebs and Harald 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) misattributed to Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856) and by Friedrich Georg Christoph Philipp Mayer (1804 - 1857), "Frühes Sterben"
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 96