What song should I sing | What song should I sing, that would

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by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Donna (Bareket) Breitzer

Was für ein Lied soll dir gesungen...

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

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Was für ein Lied soll dir gesungen werden,
Das deiner würdig sei? Wo find' ich's nur?
Am liebsten grüb' ich es tief aus der Erden,
Gesungen noch von keiner Creatur.
Ein Lied, das weder Mann noch Weib bis heute
Hört' oder sang, selbst nicht die ältsten Leute.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 62.

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 130, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Non so quale canzona mi cantare", appears in Canti popolari toscani, corsi, illirici, greci, raccolti ed illustrati da Niccolò Tommaseo, Venezia, G. Tasso, first published 1841
- 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), "Was für ein Lied soll dir gesungen werden", 1890-6, from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 23 [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) , "What song should I sing", 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: 2003-12-30
Line count: 6
Word count: 47

What song should I sing

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 What song should I sing, that would
 Be worthy of you? Where  would I find it?
 I'd like best to dig it  deep out of the earth,
 Still unsung by any creature.
 A song, that no man or woman until today
 Has heard or sung,  not even the oldest person.

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. 130, first published 1860
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Non so quale canzona mi cantare", appears in Canti popolari toscani, corsi, illirici, greci, raccolti ed illustrati da Niccolò Tommaseo, Venezia, G. Tasso, first published 1841
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-30
Line count: 6
Word count: 51