by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Ich habe wenig Lieder
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: CAT ENG FRE
Ich habe wenig Lieder
In meinem Leben gemacht,
Ich singe sie mir und den Mädchen
Am Brunnen in der Nacht.
Das eine von der Jugend,
Die rot unbändig blüht
Und nach Streit und Abenteuer
In ewiger Sehnsucht glüht.
Das andere von den warmen
Nächten der Sommerzeit
Und von allen schönen Weibern,
Um die ich geweint und gefreit.
Das dritte sing' ich zur Geige
In jeder fremden Stadt,
Vom Heimweh des Zigeuners,
Der keine Heimat hat.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 120.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Walther Hecklinger , "Lieder", 1927 [ voice and piano ], from Hesse-Lieder, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hermann Ruck (1897 - 1983), "Ich habe wenig Lieder", op. 112 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5 (1948) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Xaver Zintl (1903 - 1987), "Lieder" [ tenor or baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Paul Zoll (1907 - 1978), "Lieder", published 1959 [ bass and orchestra ], from Ode an die Musik - Kantate für Soli, Chor und Orchester , no. 2b [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Songs", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 75
Songs
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Few are the songs
That I have written in my life,
I sing them to myself and to the maidens
By the well in the night.
The one [song] about youth
That blooms unrestrainedly red
And after battle and adventure
Glows in eternal yearning.
The other about the warm
Nights of summertime
And about all the beautiful women
Over whom I have wept and whom I have wooed.
The third I sing to the fiddle
In every foreign town,
About the homesickness of the gypsy
Who has no homeland.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Lieder", written 1902
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 89
