Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage,
Jene Tage der ersten Liebe,
Ach wer bringt nur eine Stunde
Jener holden Zeit zurück!

Einsam nähr' ich meine Wunde
Und mit stets erneuter Klage
Traur' ich [um's verlorne]1 Glück.

Ach, wer bringt die schönen Tage,
[Jene holde Zeit zurück!]2

A. Berg sets stanzas 1-2

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Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1827, page 63; and with Goethe's Schriften. Achter Band. Leipzig, bey Georg Joachim Göschen, 1789, page 113.

First written 1785 by Goethe for his fragmentary Singspiel "Die ungleichen Hausgenossen" (Arie der Baronesse, Act II), with different stanzas 2 and 3.

¹ Nägeli: "um verlornes"
² Schubert: "Wer jene holde Zeit zurück!"; Medtner, Zelter: "Wer bringt die holde, süße, liebe Zeit zurück?"

Text Authorship:

• by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Erster Verlust", first published 1789

See other settings of this text.

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Eerste verlies", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "First loss", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Premier manque", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Ah, chi mi riporterà i giorni belli", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Det første tap", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Richard Morris , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 48

Chi mi ridona i giorni,
del primo amore i giorni?
Un'ora, un'ora sola
di quei vezzosi dì?

Solo, nel mio segreto
la piaga io nutro in core;
del mio perduto amore
lamento ognor così!
Oh! Chi del primo amore,
chi mi ritorna i dì?