by (Gottlob Ferdinand) Max(imilian) Gottfried von Schenkendorf (1783 - 1817)
Translation © by Emily Ezust

Was schaust du mich so freundlich an
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Was schaust du mich so freundlich an,
O Bild aus weiter Ferne,
Und winkest dem verbannten Mann?
Er käme gar zu gerne.

Die ganze Jugend tut sich auf,
Wenn ich an dich gedenke,
Als ob ich noch den alten Lauf
Nach deinem Hause lenke.

Gleich einem, der ins tiefe Meer
Die Blicke läßt versinken,
Nicht sieht, nicht hört, ob um ihn her
Viel tausend Schätze winken.

Gleich einem, der am Firmament
Nach fernem Sterne blicket,
Nur diesen kennt, nur diesen nennt
Und sich an ihm entzücket:

Ist all mein Sehnen, all mein Mut
In dir, o Bild, gegründet,
Und immer noch von gleicher Glut,
Von gleicher Lust entzündet.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

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

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "To a portrait", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À une image", 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: 20
Word count: 108

To a portrait
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Why do you look at me so kindly,
 O portrait from a far-off place,
 And why do you beckon to the banished man?
 He would come only too gladly.

My entire youth returns
When I think of you,
As if I were again on the old path
 Toward your house.

 Like one who into the deep sea
 Lets his gaze sink,
 Neither seeing nor hearing if around him
 Many thousands of treasures beckon;

 Like one who toward the heavens
 Gazes after a distant star,
 Recognizing only one, naming only one,
 And delighting in it:

 So is all my yearning - all my courage
 Gathered from you, o portrait;
 And even now ignites with the same passion,
 With the same joy.

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.


Based on:

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 119