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Ach, wenn ich [nur]1 ein Liebchen hätte,
so groß wie ich und [rosenschön]2,
[Mit Freuden gieng ich dann zu Bette,
denn Liebchen müßte mit mir gehn; --]3
wenn ich doch nur ein Liebchen hätte!
Ach, wenn ich [nur]1 ein Liebchen hätte,
wie gern [verlöscht' ich dann]4 das Licht,
mich schreckte kein Gespenst -- ich wette,
[mich]5 bangte vor dem Alpdruck nicht;--
wenn ich doch nur ein Liebchen hätte!
Ach, wenn ich [nur]1 ein Liebchen hätte,
ich wäre fleißig spät und früh,
trotz meiner Mutter Etikette
und trotz dem Rektor küsst ich sie;
[wenn ich doch]6 nur ein Liebchen hätte!
Ach, [dass ich doch kein Liebchen habe,]7
wie's Mode wohl bei Größern ist,
ich bin ein armer armer Knabe,
wer schenkt mir eins zum heil'gen Christ?--
Ach, daß ich doch kein Liebchen habe!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Karl Müchler’s Gedichte, Zweyte verbesserte Auflage, Erster Band, Viertes Buch, Berlin: bey Wilhelm Oehmigke, 1802, pages 149-150.
1 Lang (on one manuscript only): "doch"2 Lang: "Rosen schön"
3 Weber: "Wie glücklich wär' ich dann, ich wette, / Im Traume würd' ich Liebchen seh'n." ; Lang: "Mit Freuden gieng ich dann zu Bette,/ Ich würd' im Traume Liebchen seh'n."
4 Lang: "verlöschte ich das"
5 Lang, Weber: "mir"
6 Lang: "Ach, wenn ich"
7 Weber: "wenn ich nur ein Liebchen hätte,"
Text Authorship:
- by Karl Friedrich Müchler (1763 - 1857), "Der kleine Fritz an seine junge Freunde" [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 Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Der kleine Fritz an seine jungen Freunde", 1832-33? [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Alice Tegnér (1864 - 1943), "Der kleine Fritz" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Maria (Friedrich Ernst) von Weber (1786 - 1826), "Der kleine Fritz an seine Freunde", op. 15 no. 3 (1809) [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , subtitle: "De kleine Fritz tot zijn vrienden", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Little Fritz addressing his young friends", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Thomas Jaenicke , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-03-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 141
Ah, if I only had a beloved,
As tall as I and beautiful as a rose,
[with joy I would then go to bed,
for the beloved would have to go with me; --]1
if I only had a beloved!
Ah, if I only had a beloved,
how gladly would [I then]2 extinguish the light,
No ghosts would scare me -- I bet
I wouldn't even be scared of nightmares;--
if I only had a beloved!
Ah, if I only had a beloved,
I would be diligent from dawn to dusk,
despite my mother's [teachings of] decorum
and despite the rector, I would kiss her;
[if] 3 I only had a beloved!
Ah, [that I do not have a beloved,]4
as is the fashion among older folks,
I am a poor, poor lad,
who will give me [a beloved] for Christmas?--
Ah, that I do not have a beloved!
1 Weber: "How happy I would be then, I bet / I would see my beloved in my dreams." Lang: "With joy I would then go to bed,/ In my dreams I would see my beloved."
2 Lang: "I"
3 Lang: "Ah, if"
4 Weber: "if I only had a beloved"
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 Karl Friedrich Müchler (1763 - 1857), "Der kleine Fritz an seine junge Freunde"
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-22
Line count: 20
Word count: 151