Il était un vieux roi | Il était un vieux roi

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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Es war ein alter König

(Sung text for setting by A. Zemlinsky)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Es war ein alter König,
sein Herz war schwer, sein Haupt war grau;
der arme alte König,
er nahm eine junge Frau.

Es war ein junger Page,
blond war sein Haupt, leicht war sein Sinn;
er trug die seid'ne Schleppe
der jungen Königin.

Kennst du das alte Liedchen?
Es klingt so süß, es klingt so trüb!
Sie mußten beide sterben,
sie hatten sich viel zu lieb.

Composition:

Alexander Zemlinsky

Vier Lieder (1903-05)

Text Authorship:

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1830, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 29

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "There was an old king", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Il était un vieux roi", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Joost van der Linden) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Il était un vieux roi

(Sung text translation for setting by A. Zemlinsky)

See original

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Il était un vieux roi,
son cœur était lourd, sa tête était grise ;
le pauvre vieux roi,
il prit une jeune femme.

Il y avait un très beau page,
blonde était sa tête, légère étaient ses manières,
il porta la traîne en soie
de la jeune reine.

Connais-tu la vieille chanson ?
Elle sonne si doux, elle sonne si triste !
Ils durent mourir tous les deux,
ils avaient trop d'amour l'un pour l'autre.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2008 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1830, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 29
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This text was added to the website: 2008-04-23
Line count: 12
Word count: 72