The butterfly | Why should I not dance?

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by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Der Schmetterling

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE IRI ITA

Wie soll ich nicht tanzen?
Es macht keine Mühe,
Und reizende Farben
Schimmern hier im Grünen.
Immer schöner glänzen
Meine bunten Flügel,
Immer süßer hauchen
Alle kleinen Blüthen.
Ich nasche die Blüthen;
Ihr könnt sie nicht hüten.

Wie groß ist die Freude,
Sey's spät oder frühe,
Leichtsinnig zu schweben
Ueber Thal und Hügel.
Wenn der Abend säuselt,
Seht ihr Wolken glühen;
Wenn die Lüfte golden,
Scheint die Wiese grüner.
Ich nasche die Blüthen,
Ihr könnt sie nicht hüten.

Confirmed with Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1802. Herausgegeben von A. W. Schlegel und L. Tieck. Tübingen, in der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1802, pages 140-141; and with Friedrich Schlegel's sämmtliche Werke. Erster Band. Gedichte. Berlin, bei Julius Eduard Hitzig, 1809, page 19.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), "Der Schmetterling", appears in Abendröte, in Erster Teil, no. 8, first published 1802 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ivar Hallström (1826 - 1901), "Der Schmetterling" [ voice and piano ], also set in Swedish (Svenska) [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Schmetterling", op. 57 (Drei Lieder) no. 1, D 633 (1819-23), published 1826 [ voice, piano ], Thaddäus Weigl, VN 2494, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ivar Hallström.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La papallona", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De vlinder", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The butterfly", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le papillon", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , "An Féileacán", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Antonio Zencovich) , "La farfalla", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 78

The butterfly

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Why should I not dance?
It is no trouble to me,
and delightful colors
shimmer here in the green.
Ever fairer gleam
my colorful wings,
ever sweeter breathe
all the small blossoms.
I'm tasting the blossoms;
you cannot protect them!
 
How great is the joy,
be it late or early,
of floating lightly
over valley and hill.
When evening rustles,
you see the clouds glowing;
when the air turns golden,
the meadow seems greener.
I'm tasting the blossoms;
you cannot protect them.

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), "Der Schmetterling", appears in Abendröte, in Erster Teil, no. 8, first published 1802
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 82