If sorrow had the power to kill | If sorrow had the power to kill

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by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Wenn Kummer hätte zu töten Macht

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Arabic (العربية)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Wenn Kummer hätte zu töten Macht,
Er müßte tötlich dies Herz durchbohren;
Und ließ' ein Glück sich zurückbeschwören,
Mein Seufzen hätt' es zurück beschworen.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: this is an excerpt from a longer selection.

Confirmed with Die Verwandlungen des Abu Seid von Seruq oder die Makamen des Hariri von Friedrick Rückert, Vierte Auflage, Stuttgart: Verlag der J. G. Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1864, page 36.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Abu Muhammad al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Hariri (1054 - 1122) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

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

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Wenn Kummer hätte zu töten Macht", op. 113 no. 12 (1859-63) [ vocal quartet of female voices a cappella ], from 13 Kanons für Frauenstimmen, no. 12, Leipzig, Peters [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Si la pena tingués el poder de matar", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Als treurnis iemand vermoorden kon", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "If sorrow had the power to kill", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Si le chagrin avait le pouvoir de tuer", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 24

If sorrow had the power to kill

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

If sorrow had the power to kill,
it would have stabbed fatally through this heart;
and if even a glimmer of happiness could have been summoned,
my sighs would have brought it back entirely.

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
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), no title
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Abu Muhammad al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Hariri (1054 - 1122) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 34