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Wenn ich ihn nur habe, Wenn er mein nur ist, Wenn mein Herz bis hin zum Grabe Seine Treue nie vergißt: Weiß ich nichts von Leide, Fühle nichts, als Andacht, Lieb und Freude. Wenn ich ihn nur habe, Lass' ich alles gern, Folg' an meinem Wanderstabe Treugesinnt nur meinem Herrn; Lasse still die Andern Breite, lichte, volle Straßen wandern. Wenn ich ihn nur habe, Schlaf' ich fröhlich ein, Ewig wird zu süßer Labe Seines Herzens Flut mir seyn, Die mit sanftem Zwingen Alles wird erweichen und durchdringen. Wenn ich ihn nur habe, Hab' ich auch die Welt; Selig, wie ein Himmelsknabe, Der der Jungfrau Schleier hält. Hingesenkt im Schauen Kann mir vor dem Irdischen nicht grauen. Wo ich ihn nur habe, Ist mein Vaterland; Und es fällt mir jede Gabe, Wie ein Erbtheil in die Hand: Längst vermißte Brüder Find' ich nun in seinen Jüngern wieder.
A. Diepenbrock sets stanzas 1-2
F. Hensel sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Novalis Schriften. Herausgegeben von Friedrich Schlegel und Ludwig Tieck. Zweiter Theil. Berlin, 1802- In der Buchhandlung der Realschule, pages 134-135; with Novalis Schriften. Herausgegeben von Ludwig Tieck und Fr. Schlegel. Dritte Auflage. Zweiter Theil. Berlin, 1815. In der Realschulbuchhandlung, pages 27-28; and with Novalis Schriften. Kritische Neuausgabe auf Grund des handschriftlichen Nachlasses von Ernst Heilborn. Erster Theil. 1901. Druck und Verlag von Georg Reimer Berlin, page 333.
First published in Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1802. Herausgegeben von A. W. Schlegel und L. Tieck. Tübingen, in der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1802, pages 199-200.
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), as Novalis, no title, written 1799-1800, appears in Geistliche Lieder, no. 5, first published 1802 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Franz Magnus Böhme (1827 - 1898), "Sehnsucht nach Jesu", op. 30 (Vier Lieder für gemischten Chor) no. 4, published 1890 [ mixed chorus ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leopold Damrosch (1832 - 1885), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe", op. 7 (Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published c1863 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alphons Diepenbrock (1862 - 1921), "Geistliches Lied No. 5", 1898, orchestrated 1906, stanzas 1-2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Albert Hermann Dietrich (1829 - 1908), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe", op. 16 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe", H-U 17, stanzas 1-2 [ voice and piano ], note: stanza 2 is written in pencil only in the autograph [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe", op. 22, Heft 1 no. 1 (1821) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Luise Reichardt (1779 - 1826), "Geistliches Lied" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Hymne II", D 660 (1819), published 1872 [ voice, piano ], J. P. Gotthard, VN 361, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling (1904 - 1985), "Wenn ich ihn nur habe", 1949, from Drei Geistliche Lieder [sung text not yet checked]
- by C. F. Weitzmann , "Wenn ich Ihn nur habe", published 1877 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from Fünf geistliche Gesänge für gemischten Chor, no. 1, Berlin, (Paez) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Moritz Weyermann (1832 - 1888), "Geistliches Lied", op. 16 (Drei geistliche Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Elberfeld, Küpper [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Hymne II - Wenn ich ihn nur habe", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "If I only have Him", copyright ©
- ENG English (George MacDonald) , "Spiritual Songs, number 5", appears in Rampolli: Growths from a Long Planted Root. Being Translations, New and Old, Chiefly from the German, first published 1897
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 146
If I only have Him, if He is only mine; if my heart up to the grave never forgets His constancy: I will know nothing of distress, I will feel nothing but devotion, love and joy. If I only have Him, I gladly leave everything else and with my wandering staff, simply follow my Lord with loyal thoughts: I am content to let others travel the broad, bright, and busy paths. If I only have Him I fall asleep happy. An eternally sweet refreshment for me is His heart's blood, that with gentle force melts and pervades everything. If I only have Him I also have the world; Blessed as a cherub who holds the Virgin's veil. Absorbed in thought, I cannot feel horror for anything mundane. If I only have Him I am in my homeland: and every gift falls like a legacy into my hand: long-lost brothers I now find again in His followers.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), as Novalis, no title, written 1799-1800, appears in Geistliche Lieder, no. 5, first published 1802
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 156