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Du arme, kleine Nachtigall! Du solltest den Frühling wecken mit deinem holden, süßen Schall, und nun muß dich die Erde decken! Dein Mütterlein sucht bang sein Kind, wie fehlst du im Kreis der Kleinen! Es weint sich fast die Augen blind, wie traurig, ach! Das ist zum weinen. Und wenn der Frühling nun erwacht mit seiner Nachtigallen Lieder, Dann schläfst du still in Grabes Nacht, und ach! kein Ruf erweckt dich wieder.
Authorship
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 (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Die tote Nachtigall", S. 291 no. 1 (1843), published 1844. [voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Die tote Nachtigall", S. 291 no. 2 (1870-9), published 1879. [voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The dead nightingale", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le rossignol mort", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Virginia Knight
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 72
Pauvre petit rossignol ! Tu devais éveiller le printemps avec ton chant adorable et doux et maintenant la terre doit te recouvrir ! Ta petite mère cherche avec inquiétude son enfant, comme tu lui manques dans le cercle des petits ! Elle est presque aveuglée par ses larmes, comme c'est triste, hélas ! Il n'y a qu'à pleurer. Et quand maintenant le printemps s'éveillera avec ses chants de rossignols, alors tu dormiras silencieusement dans la nuit de la tombe et, hélas ! aucun appel ne te réveillera à nouveau.
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2019 by Guy Laffaille, (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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846)
This text was added to the website: 2019-02-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 89