Bertha’s and Walter’s song | I am a weak old man

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by Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouqué (1777 - 1843)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ich bin ein schwacher Greise

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

   Ich bin ein schwacher Greise,
Zieh' nicht mehr weit hinaus;
Du suchst auf Jünglings Weise
Gar manchen fernen Strauß.
Denn Strauß sind Kusses Grüße,
Und Strauß auch die vom Speer,
Nur sind die einen süße,
Die andern bitterschwer.
 
    Du sollt die süßen pflücken,
Den bittern ferne seyn;
Zwar wird mein Herz mich drücken
Zu todt mit herber Pein.
Doch schläfst Du unter Lauben,
So schlaf' ich gern im Grab;
Drum brich, ich will's erlauben,
Brich nur mich Lilie ab.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Der Zauberring. Ein Ritterroman von Friedrich Baron de La Motte Fouqué, Erster Theil, Nürnberg: bei Johann Leonhard Schrag, 1812, page 48

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouqué (1777 - 1843), no title, appears in Der Zauberring [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 Carl Borromäus von Militz (1781 - 1845), "Bertha's und Walters Lied", S. 13 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Bertha’s and Walter’s song", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2016-03-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 80

Bertha’s and Walter’s song

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

    I am a weak old man,
I no longer go on great treks;
You, in the manner of youths, seek
Many a distant bouquet.
For the greeting of kisses is a bouquet,
And those from a spear are also a bouquet,
Just that one sort is sweet,
The others are bitterly heavy.
 
    You are to pick the sweet ones,
To be far from the bitter ones;
To be sure my heart shall crush me
To death with harsh pain.
But if you could sleep under arbours,
I would gladly sleep in the grave;
Therefore cut, I shall allow it,
Only cut me as you would a lily.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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 Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouqué (1777 - 1843), no title, appears in Der Zauberring
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-03-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 108