In der hohen Hall' saß König [Sifrid]1:
"Ihr Harfner, wer weiß mir das schönste Lied?"
Und ein Jüngling trat aus der Schar behende,
Die Harf' in der Hand, das Schwert an der Lende:

"Drei Lieder weiß ich; den ersten Sang,
Den hast du ja wohl vergessen schon lang:
Meinen Bruder hast du meuchlings erstochen,
Und aber, hast ihn meuchlings erstochen!

Das andre Lied, das hab' ich erdacht
In einer finstern und stürmischen Nacht:
Mußt mit mir fechten auf Leben und Sterben,
Und aber, mußt fechten auf Leben und Sterben!"

Da lehnt er die Harfe wohl an den Tisch,
Und sie zogen beide die Schwerter frisch
Und fochten lange mit wildem Schalle,
Bis der König sank in der hohen Halle.

"Nun sing' ich das dritte und schönste Lied,
Das werd' ich nimmer zu singen müd':
König Sifrid liegt in [seim]2 rotem Blute,
Und aber, liegt in seim roten Blute!"

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View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Loewe: "Siegfried", passim.
² Loewe: "sein'm" (set to one note), passim.; "seim" is an archaic form of "seinem"

Authorship:

• by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 - 1862), "Die drei Lieder", appears in Balladen und Romanzen [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

• by Mathilde von Kralik (1857 - 1944), "Die drei Lieder", 1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Die drei Lieder (König Sifrid)", op. 3 no. 3 (1825) [ voice and piano ], confirmed with Loewe-Album, Band IV, Berlin :Schlesinger'sche Buch- und Musikhandlung (Rob. Lienau), sometime in the 1880's, pages 14 - 19 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Willi von Möllendorf (1872 - 1934), "Die drei Lieder", op. 11 (Drei Gesänge für eine Mittelstimme mit Pianoforte-Begleitung) no. 1 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: D. Rahter [sung text not yet checked]
• by G. Scheller , "Die drei Lieder", op. 60 (Drei Gesänge für Bariton mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1878 [ baritone and piano ], Hamburg, Hentze [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Die drei Lieder", AV 641 (1879) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Moritz Weyermann (1832 - 1888), "Die drei Lieder", op. 7 (3 Balladen) no. 3 [ tenor or soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by Richard Pohl (1826 - 1896) [an adaptation] ; composed by Robert Schumann.
  • Go to the text.
    
• Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (1783 - 1852) , "Три песни" ; composed by Mikhail Yur'yevich Viel'gorsky.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The three songs", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Dans la haute salle siégeait le roi Sifrid", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Ballata", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 148

King Sifrid sat in the high hall:
"You harpers, which of you knows the most beautiful song?"
And a youth stepped nimbly forth from the throng,
His harp in his hand, his sword at his side:

"I know three songs; the first song
You have likely already forgotten long:
You stabbed and killed my brother in a dastardly fashion,
And again [I say]: you stabbed and killed him in a dastardly fashion!

The second song, that one I made up
In a dark and stormy night:
You must fight with me in mortal combat,
And again [I say]: must fight in mortal combat!"

Then he leaned the harp up against the table,
And they both briskly drew their swords
And fought long with wild clangs,
Till the king sank down in the high hall.

"Now I shall sing the third and most beautiful song,
One that I shall never grow tired of singing:
King Sifrid lies in his red blood,
And again [I say]: lies in his red blood!"