Blanka | When I am lonely and breezes fan me

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by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Blanka

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Wenn mich einsam Lüfte fächeln,
        Muß ich lächeln,
Wie ich kindisch tändelnd kose
        Mit der Rose.
Wären nicht die neuen Schmerzen,
        Möcht' ich scherzen; 
Könnt' ich, was ich ahnde, sagen,
        Würd' ich klagen,
Und euch bange hoffend fragen:
Was verkünden meine Loose?
Tändl' ich gleich mit Scherz und Rose,
Muß ich lächelnd dennoch klagen.

Confirmed with Poetisches Taschenbuch für das Jahr 1806 von Friedrich Schlegel. Berlin. Bei Johann Friedrich Unger. 1806, page 398; with Friedrich Schlegel's sämmtliche Werke. Erster Band. Gedichte. Berlin, bei Julius Eduard Hitzig, 1809, page 88; and with Friedrich Schlegel's sämmtliche Werke. Achter Band. Wien, bey Jakob Mayer und Compagnie. 1823, page 204.

Note: Schlegel published the poem in the first edition (1806) with the title Blanka, in subsequent editions he included the poem with the changed title Das Mädchen into his cycle Stimmen der Liebe in the subsection Ansichten.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), first published 1806 [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 Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Blanka", D 631 (1818), published 1885 [ voice, piano ], Friedlaender VII, Leipzig [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Blanca", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Blanka", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Blanka", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Blanca", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Antonio Zencovich) , "Bianca", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 54

Blanka

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When I am lonely and breezes fan me, 
I must smile
as I did when I loitered childlike 
and caressed the roses.
Were it not for new griefs,
I would laugh and joke;
If I could say what I feel,
I would lament
and ask with anxious hope:
what does the future hold?
For if I tarry with jokes and roses,
I must then lament with a smile.

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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), first published 1806
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 68