My sweetheart is so small, that without stooping | My sweetheart is so small, that without stooping

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Donna (Bareket) Breitzer

Mein Liebster ist so klein, daß ohne...

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

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Mein Liebster ist so klein, daß ohne Bücken
Er mir das Zimmer fegt mit seinen Locken.
Als er ins Gärtlein ging, Jasmin zu pflücken,
Ist er vor einer Schnecke sehr erschrocken.
Dann setzt' er sich ins Haus um zu verschnaufen,
Da warf ihn eine Fliege übern Haufen;
Und als er hintrat an mein Fensterlein,
Stieß eine Bremse ihm den Schädel ein.
Verwünscht sei'n alle Fliegen, Schnaken, Bremsen
Und wer ein Schätzchen hat aus den Maremmen!
Verwünscht sei'n alle Fliegen, Schnaken, Mücken
Und wer sich, wenn er küßt, so tief muß bücken!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 16.

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 34, first published 1860 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "E lo mio damo è tanto piccolino", appears in Canti popolari toscani. Raccolti e annotati da Giuseppe Tigri, Firenze, Barbera, first published 1856
- 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), "Mein Liebster ist so klein, daß ohne Bücken", 1890-6, from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 15 [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) , "My sweetheart is so small, that without stooping", 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: 12
Word count: 91

My sweetheart is so small, that without stooping

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My sweetheart is so small, that without stooping
He sweeps the floor for me with his locks.
When he went into the little garden to pick jasmine,
He was very frightened by a snail.
Then he went into the house to catch his breath,
And a fly knocked him over in a  heap;
And when he stepped up to my  little window,
A horsefly knocked him in his skull.
Cursed be all  flies, gnats, and horseflies -
And all who have a tiny  sweetheart from Maremma!
Cursed be all flies, gnats, and midges -
And all who must stoop so low for a kiss!

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 Toscanisch, no. 34, first published 1860
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "E lo mio damo è tanto piccolino", appears in Canti popolari toscani. Raccolti e annotati da Giuseppe Tigri, Firenze, Barbera, first published 1856
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 102