Song | Whoever would know, whoever would imagine

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Lied

(Sung text for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Wer es wüßte, wer es dächte,
Was der Seele Frieden gibt, --
Wer mir's zeigte, wer mir's brächte,
Ewig sollt' er sein geliebt!

  Ach, sie kommen und sie gehen,
Wechselnd fühl' ich Leid und Lust;
Aber einsam bleib' ich stehen
Mit dem Gott in meiner Brust.

  Immer hör' ich's vor mir singen,
Wie ein halbverstandnes Wort;
Mit den süßen Tönen dringen
möcht' die ganze Seele fort.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Note for stanza 3, line 4, word 1: in Lang's setting, the word reverts to "Will" in the repeat.

Composition:

Josephine Lang

Text Authorship:

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), "Wer es wüßte", written 1840, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, first published 1841

Go to the general single-text view

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Song", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 133

Song

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Whoever would know, whoever would imagine
What gives the soul peace,
Whoever would show it to me, whoever would bring it to me
Should be eternally beloved.

  Ah, they come and they go,
Alternately I feel pain and joy,
But I remain standing alone
With the god in my bosom.

  I always hear it singing before me,
Like a half-understood word;
With the sweet sounds
My entire soul wishes to press on to other realms,

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), "Wer es wüßte", written 1840, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, first published 1841
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 148