A little violet stood upon the meadow

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Das Veilchen auf der Wiese

(Sung text for setting by J. Štěpán)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG ENG FRE ITA NOR SPA SPA

Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand,
Gebückt in sich und unbekannt;
Es war ein herzigs Veilchen.
 ...  kam eine junge Schäferin
Mit leichtem Schritt und muntrem Sinn
Daher, daher,
Die Wiese her, und sang.

Ach! denkt das Veilchen, wär ich nur
Die schönste Blume der Natur,
Ach, nur ein kleines Weilchen,
Bis mich das Liebchen abgepflückt
Und an dem Busen matt gedrückt!
Ach nur, ach nur
Ein Viertelstündchen lang!

Ach! aber ach! das Mädchen kam
Und nicht in Acht das Veilchen nahm,
Ertrat das arme Veilchen.
Es sank und starb und freut' sich noch:
Und sterb' ich denn, so sterb' ich doch
Durch sie, durch sie,
Zu ihren Füßen doch.

Note for Stanza 1, line 5: "muntrem" is often modernized to "munterm"

Composition:

Josef Antonín Štěpán

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Das Veilchen", appears in Erwin und Elmire

See other settings of this text.

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Het viooltje", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Walter Meyer) , "A violet stood upon the lea", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English [singable] (Leon Malinofsky) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La violette", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "La violetta", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Fiolen", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "Una pequeña violeta vivía sobre la pradera", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 114

The little violet upon the meadow

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Štěpán)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A little violet stood upon the meadow,
Lowly, humble, and unknown;
It was a dear little violet.
 ...  came a young shepherdess
With a light step and a merry spirit
Along, along,
Along the meadow, and sang.

Ah! thinks the violet, if I only were
The most beautiful flower in nature,
Ah, only for a little while,
Until the darling had picked me
And pressed me to her bosom until I became faint,
Ah only, ah only
A quarter of an hour long!

Alas! but alas! the maiden came
And paid no heed to the little violet,
She trampled the poor violet.
It drooped and died and yet rejoiced:
And if I must die, yet I die
Through her, through her,
Yet I die at her feet.

Translated titles:
"Das Veilchen" = "The little violet"
"Romanze" = "Romance"
"Aus Erwin und Elmire" = "From [the Goethe play] Erwin and Elmire"
"Das Veilchen auf der Wiese" = "The little violet upon the meadow"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Das Veilchen", appears in Erwin und Elmire
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This text was added to the website: 2015-01-26
Line count: 21
Word count: 128