Blessed be you blind who cannot see | Blessed be you blind who cannot see

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by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Donna (Bareket) Breitzer

Selig ihr Blinden, die ihr nicht zu...

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Selig ihr Blinden, die ihr nicht zu schauen
Vermögt die Reize, die uns Glut entfachen;
Selig ihr Tauben, die ihr ohne Grauen
Die Klagen der Verliebten könnt verlachen;
Selig ihr Stummen, die ihr nicht den Frauen
Könnt eure Herzensnot verständlich machen;
Selig ihr Toten, die man hat begraben!
Ihr sollt vor Liebesqualen Ruhe haben.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 13.

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Latinisch, no. 26, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Beati ciechi voi che non vedete", appears in Canti popolari inediti umbri, liguri, piceni, piemontesi, latini raccolti ed illustrati da Oreste Marcoaldi, Genova, R.I. de' Sordomuti, first published 1855
- 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 Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Selig ihr Blinden, die ihr nicht zu schauen", 1890-6, from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 5 [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 (Donna (Bareket) Breitzer) , "Blessed be you blind who cannot see", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Alberto Pedrotti , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 54

Blessed be you blind who cannot see

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Blessed be you blind who cannot see
Those charms that fan our ardor;
Blessed you deaf who, unappalled,
Can laugh away the laments of lovers;
Blessed you dumb who cannot convey 
Your distress of heart to women;
Blessed you dead, you who are  buried!
You shall have peace from  love's torments.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Donna (Bareket) Breitzer, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Latinisch, no. 26, first published 1860
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Beati ciechi voi che non vedete", appears in Canti popolari inediti umbri, liguri, piceni, piemontesi, latini raccolti ed illustrati da Oreste Marcoaldi, Genova, R.I. de' Sordomuti, first published 1855
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 51