Ich will nur Ihn!  Und doch, kommt er zu mir
Und plaudert dann von lauter schönen Dingen,
Von einem Lied, das er mich hörte singen,
Vom Sternenhimmel, von den Rosen hier,
Harr' ich umsonst, indes ich heimlich sacht
Zerreiß' an meinem Tuch die feinen Spitzen,
Daß endlich Feuer möge sprüh'n und spritzen
Aus dieser diamantnen Seele Schacht.
Er scheut, sich hinzugeben.  Zarte Scham
Zwingt ihn, das Wort zurückzupressen,
Daß meine Lieb' ihn ganz gefangen nahm
Und daß um mich er alles hat vergessen!

Confirmed with Paul Heyse Gesammelte Werke, Dritte Reihe, Band V, Stuttgart & Berlin: J.G. Cottasche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, Verlagsanstalt Hermann Klemm A.G., [1924], page 686. Note: it is not from Heyse's Italienisches Liederbuch, although it is a translation from the Italian.

Composition:

Set to music by Joseph Marx (1882 - 1964), "Liebe", 1907 [ soprano and piano ], from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 1

Text Authorship:

• by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Übersetzungen, in Unter uns/ Von Komtesse Lara, no. 2

Based on:

• a text in Italian (Italiano) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist  [text unavailable]
  • Go to the text page.

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Love", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 87

I want only him!  And yet, when he comes to me,
And speaks then of all kinds of lovely things,
Of a song that he heard me sing,
Of the starry sky, of the roses here,
I wait in vain, while I gently and secretly
Tear the fine lace upon my shawl,
That fire might spurt and spew forth
From the depths of this diamond-hard soul.
He is shy of giving himself over to his feelings.  Delicate modesty
Forces him to press the words back  ... ,
That my love has captured him completely
And that for me he has forgotten all else.