by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen aß
 (Sung text for setting by J. Sibelius)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE HUN ITA
Wer nie sein Brod mit Thränen aß,
Wer nie die kummervollen Nächte
Auf seinem Bette weinend saß,
Der kennt euch nicht, ihr himmlischen Mächte!

 ...

First published in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Ein Roman. Herausgegeben von Goethe. Erster Band. Berlin. Bey Johann Friedrich Unger. 1795, page 346. The poem appears in Book 2, Chapter 13 of Goethe's novel.

See also Baggesen's parody, Leiden.

Composition:

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jan Evangelista Nečas) , "Harfeník"
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Wie nooit zijn brood in tranen at", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "He who never ate his bread with tears", copyright ©
  • ENG English [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation]
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Celui qui n'a jamais mangé son pain avec des larmes", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Chi non mangiò mai pane bagnato di lacrime", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


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

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 52