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by Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875)
Translation by Julius Thomsen, Dr. (flourished c1849)

Agnete var elsket, uskyldig og god
Language: Danish (Dansk) 
Agnete var elsket, uskyldig og god, 
Sligt Hjerte har aldrig en ond Draabe Blod;
Hun var som Guds Engle og mild som Guds Sol.
Og dog saa beskeden, som Markens Viol.
O Gud, hvor mit Hjerte maa lide!

Den fattige Fugl sad paa Grenen og sang,
Men hun saae alene paa Bølgernes Gang.
Der klang det saa [listigt]1, ei vidste hun hvad;
Hun hørte paa Havmandens lokkende Kvad.
O Gud! hvor mit Hjerte maa lide!

Den Havmand, han nævned' saa sødt hendes Navn,
Hun glemte sin [Jesum]2 og sprang i hans Favn;
-- Ak, sand er min Vise, men det er ei stort!
Den fattige Fugl har selv Visen gjort.
O Gud! hvor mit Hjerte maa lide! --

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   N. Gade 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Gade: "lifligt"
2 Gade: "Frelser"

Text Authorship:

  • by Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875), appears in Agnete og Havmanden [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 Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817 - 1890), "Vise", 1843 [ voice and piano ], from Agnete og Havmanden, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Halfdan Kjerulf (1815 - 1868), "Romance af Agnete og Havmanden", op. 1 (Seks sange) no. 2, HK. 15 (1840?) [ voice and piano ]
        Score: IMSLP [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Julius Thomsen, Dr. (flourished c1849) , "Am Ufer", subtitle: "(Der Mond scheint auf's Wasser)", appears in Andersens Dichtungen. Auswahl in deutscher Übertragung, first published 1849 ; composed by Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld.
    • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-07-09
Line count: 15
Word count: 119

Geliebt war Agnete, voll Unschuld und...
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Danish (Dansk) 
Geliebt war Agnete, voll Unschuld und gut,
[ihr]1 Herz hatte nie einen Tropfen bös' Blut;
Wie die Sonn', wie die Engel so mild war ihr Herz,
und doch so bescheiden wie's Veilchen im März.
O Gott, wie mein Herze muss leiden!

Der arme Vogel saß [singend]2 im Baum,
sie hatte nur Aug' für den wogenden Raum.
Sie wusste nicht, was ihr so lieblich klang,
sie lauschte des Meergottes lockendem Sang.
O Gott, wie mein Herze muss leiden!

Der Meergott hat mild sie beim Namen genannt,
da, Jesum vergessend, sie [sprang]3 von dem Strand.
Ach, wahr ist die Weise, ob viel auch nicht wert,
der arme Vogel hat selbst sie gelehrt.
O Gott, wie mein Herze muss leiden!

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   L. Schnorr von Carolsfeld 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Andersens Dichtungen. Auswahl in deutscher Übertragung von Dr. Julius Thomsen, Altona, 1849. Note: the poem is preceded by the character name "Ein Fischer" with the directive "(singt im Boote)".

1 Schnorr von Carolsfeld: "solch'"
2 Schnorr von Carolsfeld: "sinnend"
3 Schnorr von Carolsfeld: "sprung"

Text Authorship:

  • by Julius Thomsen, Dr. (flourished c1849), "Am Ufer", subtitle: "(Der Mond scheint auf's Wasser)", appears in Andersens Dichtungen. Auswahl in deutscher Übertragung, first published 1849 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Danish (Dansk) by Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875), appears in Agnete og Havmanden
    • 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 Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1836 - 1865), "Hemmings Lied aus Agnete" [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Neun Lieder für Sopran oder Tenor mit Begleitung des Pianoforte von Ludwig und Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, herausgegeben von Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-03
Line count: 15
Word count: 120

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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