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O süßer Mai, Der Strom ist frei, Ich steh verschlossen, Mein Aug' verdrossen, Ich seh nicht deine grüne Tracht, Nicht deine buntgeblümte Pracht, Nicht dein Himmelblau, Zur Erd' ich schau; O süßer Mai, Mich lasse frei, Wie den Gesang An den [dunkeln]1 Hecken entlang.
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View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Tröst Einsamkeit, alte und neue Sagen und Wahrsagungen. Geschichten und Gedichte, herausgegeben von Ludwig Achim von Arnim, Heidelberg, bei Mohr und Zimmer, 1808, page 11, an excerpt from Der freie Dichtergarten; headed Zweyte Stimme. Selbstbeschwerung.
1 Brahms: "dunklen"Authorship:
- possibly by Karl Joachim ("Achim") Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (1781 - 1831), no title [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), "O süßer Mai", op. 93a (Sechs Lieder und Romanzen für vierstimmigen gemischten Chor) no. 3 (1883?), published 1884 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Felix vom Rath (1866 - 1905), "Selbstbeschwerung", op. 8 (Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1902 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [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) , "O zoete mei", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "O sweet May", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Ô doux moi de Mai", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 45
O sweet May, streaming freely, I stand close-mouthed, my eyes querulous. I see neither your green array, your colorfully blossoming splendour, nor your blue skies; to the earth I gaze. O sweet May, release me like a song along the dark hedge.
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) possibly by Karl Joachim ("Achim") Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (1781 - 1831)
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 42