Crimson rose | I had played you a song

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Purpurrose

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Ich hatte dir ein Lied gespielt.
Du schwiegest. Deine Rechte hielt
Mit lassen Fingern eine große,
Blutrote, reife Purpurrose.

Und über uns mit fremder Pracht
Stieg auf die milde Sommernacht,
In wunderbarem Glanz erschlossen,
Die erste Nacht, die wir genossen.

Stieg auf und bog den dunklen Arm
Um uns, und war so laß und warm.
Du streiftest still von deinem Schoße
Die Blätter einer Purpurrose.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 59.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Purpurrose", written 1899, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Buch der Liebe, first published 1919 [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 Oskar Baumann , "Purpurrose", op. 308 (Hermann Hesse-Lieder, 2. Folge) no. 1 (1947) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Friedrich Scholz (b. 1926), "Purpurrose" [ voice and piano ], from Acht Liedvertonungen nach Gedichten von Rose Ausländer, Mascha Kaléko und Herrmann Hesse, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Crimson rose", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Rose pourpre", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-04-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 65

Crimson rose

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I had played you a song,
You were silent. With limp fingers
Your right hand held a large,
Blood-red, ripe, crimson rose.

And above us with foreign splendour
The mild summer night arose,
Revealed in a wondrous radiance,
The first night that we savoured.

Arose and passed its dark arm
Around us, and was so languorous and warm.
Quietly you brushed from your lap
The petals of a crimson rose.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Purpurrose", written 1899, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Buch der Liebe, first published 1919
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-09-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 70