The beloved speaks | They tell me that my cheeks are dark

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by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Sie sagen mir, daß meine Wangen schwarz...

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Sie sagen mir, daß meine Wangen schwarz sind,
Doch wächs't das beste Korn in schwarzem Land,
Und sieh doch nur die Nelken, wie sie schwarz sind,
Und doch so gern trägt man sie in der Hand.
  Sie sagen mir, mein Liebster sei zu braun;
Mir deucht er wie ein Engel anzuschau'n. 
  Sie sagen mir, schwarz sei mein liebster Freund,
Der mir ein Engel doch vom Himmel scheint.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 51.

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 108, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Joseph Marx (1882 - 1964), "Die Liebste spricht", 1912 [ mezzo-soprano and piano or string quartet or orchestra ], from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The beloved speaks", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La bien-aimée dit", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 67

The beloved speaks

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

They tell me that my cheeks are dark,
Yet the best wheat grows in dark soil,
And only look at the carnations, how dark they are,
And yet one carries them in one's hands so gladly.
 They tell me that my beloved is too brown;
To me he is like an angel to gaze upon.
 They tell me, dark is my most beloved friend,
Who seems to me to be an angel from heaven.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 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 Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 108, first published 1860
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-12-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 74