Was it you for whom these lips trembled (Tieck, set by Johannes Brahms) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

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by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

War es dir, dem diese Lippen bebten

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): DUT ENG FRE ITA TUR

War es dir, dem diese Lippen bebten,
Dir der dargebotne süße Kuß?
Gibt ein irdisch Leben so Genuß?
Ha! wie Licht und Glanz vor meinen Augen schwebten,
Alle Sinne nach den Lippen strebten!

In den klaren Augen blickte
Sehnsucht, die mir zärtlich winkte,
Alles klang im Herzen wieder,
Meine Blicke sanken nieder,
Und die Lüfte tönten Liebeslieder!

Wie ein Sternenpaar
Glänzten die Augen, die Wangen
Wiegten das goldene Haar,
Blick und Lächeln schwangen
Flügel, und die süßen Worte gar
Weckten das tiefste Verlangen;
O Kuß, wie war dein Mund so brennend rot!
Da starb ich, fand ein Leben erst im schönsten Tod.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853), no title, appears in Liebesgeschichte der schönen Magelone und des Grafen Peter von Provence, no. 8, chapter heading: "Wie Peter die schöne Magelone besuchte" [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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "War es dir, dem diese Lippen bebten", op. 33 no. 7 (1861-65), published 1865 [voice and piano], from Die schöne Magelone. Romanzen aus L. Tiecks Magelone, no. 7, Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "Was it you for whom these lips trembled", copyright ©
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Fu per te, che queste labbra", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , title 1: "Was 't voor jou dat deze lippen beefden?", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
TUR Turkish (Türkçe) (Gül Sabar) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:52
Line count: 18
Word count: 102

Was it you for whom these lips trembled

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Was it you for whom these lips trembled,
For you, that sweet, offered kiss?
Can an earthly life be so enjoyable?
Ha! how the light and radiance danced before my eyes,
All my senses aspired to those lips!

From those clear eyes shone
a yearning which tenderly beckoned me;
All echoed again in my heart
My gaze sank low
And the breezes whispered love songs.

Like a pair of stars
Gleamed your eyes, your cheeks
Cradled by golden hair;
Your gazes and smiles took
wing, and your sweet words
awoke a deep longing:
O Kiss, how burning red your mouth was!
I died, and first found life in fairest death.

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853), no title, appears in Liebesgeschichte der schönen Magelone und des Grafen Peter von Provence, no. 8, chapter heading: "Wie Peter die schöne Magelone besuchte"

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:52
Line count: 18
Word count: 110