Mühvoll komm' ich und beladen,
Nimm mich an, du Hort der Gnaden!
 
Sieh, ich komm' in Thränen heiß
Mit demüthiger Geberde,
Dunkel ganz vom Staub der Erde.
Du nur schaffest, daß ich weiß
Wie das Vließ der Lämmer werde.
Tilgen willst du ja den Schaden
Dem, der reuig dich umfaßt;
Nimm denn, Herr, von mir die Last,
Mühvoll komm' ich und beladen.
 
Laß mich flehend vor dir knie'n,
Daß ich über deine Füße
Nardenduft und Thränen gieße,
Gleich dem Weib, dem du verzieh'n,
Bis die Schuld wie Rauch zerfließe.
Der den Schächer du geladen:
"Heute noch in Edens Bann
Wirst du sein!" o nimm mich an,
Nimm mich an, du Hort der Gnaden!

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: this is an original composition by Geibel, not a translation. The name Don Manuel de Rio is the name of a Spanish ancestor of Geibel's wife.

Confirmed with Spanisches Liederbuch von Emanuel Geibel und Paul Heyse. Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz, 1852, page 12

Authorship:

• by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), as Don Manuel de Rio, no title, appears in Spanisches Liederbuch, in 1. Geistliche Lieder, no. 7 [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 Gustav Flügel (1812 - 1900), "Müh'voll komm' ich", op. 43 (Geistliche Lieder aus dem spanischen Liederbuche v. E. Geibel u. P. Heyse) no. 5, published 1855 [ alto or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Merseburger [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Müh'voll komm' ich und beladen", 1889-90, from Spanisches Liederbuch: Geistliche Lieder, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , no title, copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 113

Filled with care I come, and encumbered,
Accept me, Thou refuge of mercy!
 
Lo, I come dissolved in fervent tears
With humble mien,
Utterly sullied by the dust of the earth.
Only Thou canst succeed in making me
Become as white as the fleece of lambs.
For Thou wishest to obliterate the defects
Of him who comes and clings to Thee in repentance;
Take then, Lord, from me my burden,
Filled with care I come, and encumbered.
 
Permit me to kneel pleadingly before Thee,
So that I may over Thy feet
Pour the scent of nard, and tears,
Like the woman, whom Thou forgavest,
Until my trespasses dissipate like smoke.
Thou who badest the crucified thief:
"Yet today in the enchantment of Eden
Shalt thou be!” oh accept me,
Accept me, Thou refuge of mercy!