Chant du mourant | Ma très chère, quand je serai mort

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by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Laß Liebster, wenn ich tot bin

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: FRE

[Laß Liebster, wenn ich tot bin]¹,
laß du von Klagen ab.
Statt Rosen und Cypressen
wächst Gras auf meinem Grab.
Ich schlafe still im Zwielichtschein
in schwerer Dämmernis -
Und wenn du willst, gedenke mein
und wenn du willst, vergiß.

Ich fühle nicht den Regen,
ich seh' nicht, ob es tagt,
ich höre nicht die Nachtigall,
die in den Büschen klagt.
Vom [Schlaf]² erweckt mich keiner,
die Erdenwelt verblich.
Vielleicht gedenk ich deiner,
vielleicht vergaß ich dich.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Maux

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Maux: "Laß, wenn ich tot bin, Liebster"
² Maux: "Traum"

Text Authorship:

by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "Song", appears in Goblin Market and other Poems, first published 1862
- 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 Paul Dessau (1894 - 1979), "Sterbelied", 1927 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957), "Sterbelied", op. 14 no. 1 (1918), from Lieder des Abschieds, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Richard Maux (1893 - 1971), "Sterbelied", op. 107 (1919) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chant du mourant", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 79

Chant du mourant

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

Ma très chère, quand je serai mort,
Retiens-toi de pleurer,
Au lieu de roses et de cyprès
Que l'herbe pousse sur ma tombe.
Je dors tranquillement dans le crépuscule,
Dans une obscurité profonde --
Et si tu le veux, pense à moi,
Et si tu le veux, oublie.

Je ne sens pas la pluie,
Je ne vois pas si le jour vient,
Je n'entends pas le rossignol
Lancer sa plainte dans les buissons.
Personne ne m'éveille du sommeil,
Le monde terrestre a disparu,
Peut-être que je pense à toi,
Peut-être que je t'ai oubliée.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 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 Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "Song", appears in Goblin Market and other Poems, first published 1862
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-01-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 93