Ik weet niet, hoe moet ik het duiden

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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Translation © by Lau Kanen

Lorelei: von Heine

(Sung text for setting by E. Steinkühler)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG FIN FRE GRE HUN POR SPA

  Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Daß ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

  Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
Im Abendsonnenschein.

  Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.

  Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame,
Gewalt'ge Melodei.

  Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh'.

  Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
Die Lorelei gethan.

Confirmed with: Heinrich Heine’s sämtliche Werke in vier Bänden, herausgegeben von Otto F. Lachmann, Erster Band, Leipzig: Druck und Verlag von Philipp Reclam jun, [1887], pages 116-117.

Composition:

Emil Steinkühler

Text Authorship:

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 2

See other settings of this text.

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Walter Meyer) , no title, copyright © 1995, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
ENG English [singable] (Arthur Westbrook) , "The Loreley"
ENG English [singable] (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) , "The lorelei", appears in A Tramp Abroad, Volume 1, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, p. 123-4, first published 1880
ENG English (Patrick John Corness) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Lorelei", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
POL Polish (Polski) (Aleksander Kraushar) , no title, appears in Pieśni Heinego, in Powrót, no. 2
POR Portuguese (Português) (Margarida Moreno) , "A Loreley", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak) , "Лорелей"
SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfredo García) , "Lorelei", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 132

Ik weet niet, hoe moet ik het duiden

(Sung text translation for setting by E. Steinkühler)

See original

Language: Dutch (Nederlands) after the German (Deutsch)

Ik weet niet, hoe moet ik het duiden:
Ik ben vol treurigheid;
Een sprookje uit oude tijden,
Dat raak ik maar steeds niet kwijt.
 
De lucht is koel, het donkert
En rustig stroomt de Rijn;
De top van de bergen flonkert
In avondzonneschijn.
 
De mooiste jonkvrouw zit ver
Daarboven wonderbaar,
Haar gouden halssnoer schittert,
Zij kamt haar goudblonde haar.
 
Van goud is de kam in haar handen,
Zij zingt een melodie;
Dat lied zal daaronder landen,
Vervuld van melancholie.
 
In ’t schuitje vaart daar de schipper;
Hem raakt het gezang heel erg,
Hij let niet op rotsen en klippen,
Hij kijkt steeds omhoog naar de berg.
 
Ik meen, op het einde der dingen
Zijn schuit en schipper vergaan;
En dat heeft met haar mooi zingen
De Lorelei gedaan.

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Text Authorship:

Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2016 by Lau Kanen, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.
Lau Kanen. Contact: boudewijnkanen (AT) gmail (DOT) com

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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 2
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This text was added to the website: 2016-03-09
Line count: 24
Word count: 128