Ach, [könnt' ich, könnte]1 vergessen Sie!
  Ihr [schönes, liebes, liebliches]2 Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Vielleicht ich möchte genesen!
Doch ach! mein Herz, mein Herz kann es nie!
Und doch ist's Wahnsinn, zu hoffen Sie!
    [Und um sie schweben, 
    Gibt Muth und Leben,
    Zu weichen nie! --]3
Und [denn]4, wie kann ich vergessen Sie,
  Ihr [schönes, liebes, liebliches]2 Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Viel lieber nimmer genesen!

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Johann Gottfried v. Herders Sämmtliche Werke, Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Dritter Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1852, pages 193-194.

¹ D'Alquen: "könnt' ich, könnt' ich"; Raif: "könnte, könnt' ich"
² Raif: "schönes, liebliches"
³ omitted by Raif
⁴ D'Alquen: "doch"; Hensel, Raif: dann"

Authorship:

• by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Ein Sonnet", subtitle: "Aus dem 13ten Jahrhundert" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in French (Français) by Thibaut Ier de Navarre (1201 - 1253), "Chanson"
  • 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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Ein Sonett", op. 14 (Acht Lieder und Romanzen) no. 4 (1858), published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Peter Cornelius D'Alquen (1795 - 1863), "Minnelied", op. posth. 3 (8 Lieder) no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by (Leonard Johann Heinrich) Albert Fuchs (1858 - 1910), "Altfranzösisches Sonett", op. 31 (Fünfzehn Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 7, published 1899 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text not yet checked]
• by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Sonnet aus dem 13. Jahrhundert", op. 19 (Zwölf Gesänge) no. 10, published 1848 [ voice and piano ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
• by Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Sonnet aus dem 13. Jhdt.", H-U 152 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Oskar Raif (1847 - 1899), "Altfranzösisches Sonnet", op. 8 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Barth [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Benedikt Randhartinger (1802 - 1893), "Nimmer genesen" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Sonett aus dem 13. Jahrhundert", 1802 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een sonnet", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Oh, could I only forget her", copyright ©
• ENG English [singable] (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "A sonnet"
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Un sonetto", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-09
Line count: 13
Word count: 71

Oh, could I only forget her,
Her fair, lovely, charming nature,
Her glance, her friendly lips!
Perhaps then I might be well!
But oh, my heart, my heart can never do so!
And yet it is madness to hope for her!
Yet to hover near her,
Gives me Life and Courage
Never to weaken.
And how then can I forget her,
her fair, lovely, charming nature,
Her glance, her friendly lips!
Much rather would I never be well again!