I do not eat my bread dry anymore | I do not eat my bread dry anymore

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by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Donna (Bareket) Breitzer

Ich esse nun mein Brod nicht trocken...

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

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Ich esse nun mein Brod nicht trocken mehr,
Ein Dorn ist mir im Fuße stecken blieben.
Umsonst nach rechts und links blick' ich umher,
Und Keinen find' ich, der mich möchte lieben.
Wenn's doch auch nur ein altes Männlein wäre,
Das mir erzeigt' ein wenig Lieb' und Ehre.
  Ich meine nämlich, so ein wohlgestalter,
Ehrbarer Greis, etwa von meinem Alter.
  Ich meine, um mich ganz zu offenbaren,
Ein altes Männlein so von vierzehn Jahren.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 49.

Heyse's note to line 1: "Nämlich, mit Thränen befeuchtet."

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Toscanisch, no. 103, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Non posso piú mangiarlo il pane asciutto", 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), "Ich esse nun mein Brod nicht trocken mehr", 1890-6, from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 24 [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) , "I do not eat my bread dry anymore", 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: 10
Word count: 74

I do not eat my bread dry anymore

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I do not eat my bread dry anymore;
A thorn remains stuck in my  foot.
In vain, I look around to the right and left
And find no one who might love me.
If only there might be an old, little man
Who showed me a little love and respect.
I mean, of course, a well-built,
Respectable old man, of about my age.
I mean, to be quite frank,
A little old man of about fourteen.

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

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Non posso piú mangiarlo il pane asciutto", 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: 10
Word count: 76