Often my pondering thoughts move back and forth

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by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Oft sinn ich hin und wieder

(Sung text for setting by E. Humperdinck)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Oft sinn' ich hin und wieder:
Was treibt mich zu ihr hin?
Sind's ihre süßen Lieder,
Ist es ihr froher Sinn?

Was hält mich so gefangen
Wenn ihre Stimme schallt?
Ist's unbewußt Verlangen,
Ist's ihres Aug's Gewalt?

's ist nicht der Wuchs, der schöne,
Und nicht des Auges Strahl,
Auch nicht die süßen Töne;
's ist Alles allzumal!

Composition:

Engelbert Humperdinck

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Oft sinn' ich hin und wieder", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 9. Aus dem Buche Edlitam (1847-1851)

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2008-03-31
Line count: 12
Word count: 59

Often my pondering thoughts move back...

(Sung text translation for setting by E. Humperdinck)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Often my pondering thoughts move back and forth:
What drives me to her?
Is it her sweet songs,
Is it her joyful spirit?

What holds me captive thus
When her voice sounds?
It is unconscious yearning,
Is it the power of her eyes?

It is not her stature, her lovely stature,
And not the beams of her eyes,
Also not the sweet sounds;
It is everything all at the same time!

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 by Sharon 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Oft sinn' ich hin und wieder", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 9. Aus dem Buche Edlitam (1847-1851)
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This text was added to the website: 2022-05-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 73