Ich stand in [dunkeln]1 Träumen
Und [starrte]2 ihr Bildniß an,
Und das geliebte Antlitz
Heimlich zu leben begann.
 
Um ihre Lippen zog sich
Ein Lächeln wunderbar,
Und wie von Wehmuthsthränen
[Erglänzte]3 [ihr]4 Augenpaar.
 
Auch meine Thränen flossen
Mir von [den Wangen]5 herab -- 
Und ach, ich [kann es]6 nicht glauben,
Daß ich Dich verloren hab'!

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Confirmed with Buch der Lieder von H. Heine. Hamburg bei Hoffmann und Campe. 1827, page 201; and with Reisebilder von H. Heine. Erster Theil. Hamburg, bey Hoffmann und Campe. 1826, page 27.

¹ Mendel: "dunklen"
² Beach, Grieg, Schubert: "starrt'"
³ Voss: "Erglänzt"
⁴ Hinrichs, Lenz: "das"
⁵ Lenz, Voss: "der Wang'"
⁶ Grieg, Hinrichs, Lenz, Mendel, Schumann, Voss: "kann's"

Text Authorship:

• by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1823-24, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 23, first published 1826

See other settings of this text.

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Estava immers en obscures vagueries", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright © 1996
• ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
• ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Hänen kuvansa", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Dans des rêves sombres", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "J'étais plongé en de sombres rêveries", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) (Athanasios Papaisiou) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Immagine di lei", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• KOR Korean (한국어/조선말) [singable] (곽명규 Myung-Kew Kwack) , "그녀 모습", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 60

I gazed upon her picture,
Absorbed in dreams of gloom,
Till those beloved features
Began to breathe and bloom.

About her lips came wreathing
That sweet, sweet smile I knew;
The eyes were softly gleaming
With tears as fresh as dew.

And my tears sprang there also,
The dark clouds' rain was shed;
And, O my love I cannot
Believe that thou art dead.