by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Warum sind denn die Rosen so blaß?
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE FRE POR
Warum sind denn die Rosen so blaß?
O sprich mein Lieb warum?
Warum sind denn im grünen Gras
Die blauen Veilchen so stumm?

Warum singt denn mit so kläglichem Laut,
Die Lerche in der Luft?
Warum steigt denn aus dem Balsamkraut
Verwelkter Blütenduft?

Warum scheint denn die Sonn' auf die Au,
So kalt und verdrießlich herab?
Warum ist denn die Erde so grau,
Und öde wie ein Grab?

Warum bin ich selbst so krank und so trüb?
Mein liebes Liebchen sprich
O sprich mein herzallerliebstes Lieb,
Warum verließest du mich?

P. Cornelius sets stanzas 1-2, 4

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg, 1827, page 129.


Authorship:

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


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by J. Emory Shaw.
  • Also set in English, a translation possibly by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882); composed by Hazel Cobb.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Victor Despommier.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Henry Kimball Hadley.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Francis Alexander Korbay.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by A. P. Lighthill.
  • Also set in English, a translation by C. Archer ; composed by Ross Oliver.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by George Rochberg.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Felix Schelling.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Pierre-René Hirsch (1870 - 1891) and by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955) ; composed by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Gérard Labrunie (1808 - 1855) , no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 23 ; composed by Marcel Bertrand, Georges Adolphe Hüe.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Abel Nathan ; composed by Abel Nathan.
  • Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Vincenzo Baffi ; composed by Ferruccio Busoni.
  • Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Francesco Cipolla, Conte (1848 - 1914) , no title ; composed by Giovanni Sgambati.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by César Antonovich Cui.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Lev Aleksandrovich Mey (1822 - 1862) , no title, written 1858 ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Ilya Fyodorovich Tyumenev (1855 - 1927) ; composed by Jules Bleichmann.
  • Also set in Ukrainian (Українська), a translation by Larisa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka (1871 - 1913) , no title ; composed by Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Perquè són les roses tan pàl·lides", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Why are the roses so pale?", copyright ©
  • ENG English (John Todhunter) , appears in Heine's Book of Songs, first published 1907
  • FRE French (Français) (Charles Beltjens) , no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 23, first published 1827
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Pourquoi les roses sont-elles si pâles?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • POR Portuguese (Português) (Axel Bergstedt) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 90

Pourquoi donc les roses sont‑elles si...
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Pourquoi donc les roses sont-elles si pâles ?
Ô mon amour, dis-moi pourquoi,
Pourquoi donc les herbes sont-elles si vertes,
Les violettes bleues si muettes ?

Pourquoi donc le chant si plaintif
De l'alouette monte-t-il dans le ciel ?
Pourquoi donc s'élève de la balsamite
Un parfum de fleur fanée ?

Pourquoi donc l'éclat du soleil sur le pré
Est-il si froid et si chagrin ?
Pourquoi donc la terre est-elle si grise
Et déserte comme une tombe ?

Pourquoi suis-je moi-même morbide et maussade ?
Dis-moi, ma chère bien-aimée,
Ô dis-moi, mon amour, préférée de mon cœur,
Pourquoi m'as-tu quitté ?

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Pierre Mathé, (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: 2016-12-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 102