by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Translation © by Antonio Zencovich

Wie kommt's, daß du so traurig bist
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG ITA
Wie kommt's, daß du so traurig bist,
Da alles froh erscheint?
Man sieht dir's an den Augen an,
Gewiß du hast geweint.

"Und hab' ich einsam auch geweint,
So ist's mein [eigner]1 Schmerz,
Und Thränen fließen gar so süß,
Erleichtern mir das Herz."

Die frohen Freunde laden dich,
O komm an unsre Brust!
Und was du auch verloren hast,
[Vertraue]2 den Verlust.

"Ihr lärmt und rauscht und ahnet nicht,
Was mich den Armen quält.
Ach nein, verloren hab' ich's nicht,
So sehr es mir auch fehlt."

So raffe dich denn eilig auf,
Du bist ein junges Blut.
In deinen Jahren hat man Kraft
Und zum Erwerben Muth.

"Ach nein, erwerben kann ich's nicht,
Es steht mir gar zu fern.
Es weilt so hoch, es blinkt so schön,
Wie droben jener Stern."

Die Sterne, die begehrt man nicht,
Man freut sich ihrer Pracht,
Und mit Entzücken blickt man auf
In jeder heitern Nacht.

"Und mit Entzücken blick' ich auf,
So manchen lieben Tag;
Verweinen laßt die Nächte mich,
So lang' ich weinen mag."

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1827, pages 96-97, and with Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1804, Herausgegeben von Wieland und Goethe, Tübingen, in der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, pages 115-116.

1 Schubert (in the autograph): "eigen"
2 Schubert (Friedlaender edition): "vertraure"

Authorship:

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

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (1783 - 1852) ; composed by Nikolay Ivanovich Bakhmetyev, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky, Ivan Ivanovich Ignatiev, Nikolai Alexeyevich Titov, Nikolai Sergeyevich Titov.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Troost in tranen", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Comfort in tears", copyright ©
  • ENG English (Edgar Alfred Bowring) , "Comfort in tears", appears in The Poems of Goethe, first published 1853
  • FRE French (Français) (Gérard Labrunie) , "Consolation dans les larmes"
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Antonio Zencovich) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 172

Perché sei così triste
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Perché sei così triste
mentre tutti si mostrano allegri?
Dai tuoi occhi si vede
che di sicuro hai pianto.

“È vero, sono rimasto a piangere da solo,
ma è stato per un dolore tutto mio.
e le lacrime scorrevano così dolci
da alleggerirmi il cuore.”

Gli amici lieti t’invitano:
su, vieni ai nostri cuori
e, qualunque cosa abbia perduto,
confidati con noi.

“Voi schiamazzate e fate confusione senza immaginare
cosa tormenti questo infelice:
ahimé, nulla ho perduto 
sebbene qualcosa mi manchi assai.”

Allora alzati in fretta:
il tuo sangue è giovane.
Alla tua età non manca la forza
e il coraggio di ottenere ciò che si desidera.

“Ahimè, io non posso raggiungerlo:
il bene cui aspiro è troppo lontano da me.
Sta così in alto, splende così gentile
come quella stella lassù.”

Le stelle non si possono bramare:
ci si rallegra del loro splendore
e le si osserva con rapimento
quando la notte è serena.

“Io invece le contemplo rapito
in certi giorni lieti.
Lasciate che passi le notti in lacrime
finché sarò in grado di piangere.”

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Trost in Tränen" = "La consolazione nelle lacrime"

Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2015 by Antonio Zencovich, (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.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2015-03-20
Line count: 32
Word count: 177