by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
Translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846)
Were my bosom as false as thou deem'st it to be
Language: English
Were my bosom as false as thou deem'st it to be, I need not have wander'd from far Galilee; It was but abjuring my creed to efface The curse which, thou say'st, is the crime of my race. If the bad never triumph, then God is with thee! If the slave only sin, thou art spotless and free! If the Exile on earth is an Outcast on high, Live on in thy faith, but in mine I will die. I have lost for that faith more than thou canst bestow, As the God who permits thee to prosper doth know; In his hand is my heart and my hope - and in thine The land and the life which for him I resign.
Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Were my bosom as false as thou deem'st it to be", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 17, first published 1815 [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 Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "Were my bosom as false as thou deem'st it to be", published 1815 [ voice and piano ], from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 17 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , "Wär ich wirklich so falsch", appears in Hebräische Gesänge, first published 1820 ; composed by M. Henle, Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870) , "Wär' ich wirklich so falsch", appears in Hebräische Melodien, no. 18, first published 1841 ; composed by Karl Müller.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Si mon cœur était aussi perfide que tu le penses", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 17
Researcher for this page: Thomas Jaenicke
This text was added to the website: 2004-07-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 123
Wär' ich wirklich so falsch?
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Wär' ich wirklich so falsch, als der Irrtum es glaubt, Was käm' von so fern' ich, der Heimat beraubt? Was entsagt' ich dem Glauben nicht? Dies wär' genug, Zu lösen den auf uns geworfenen Fluch. Wenn der Böse nie siegt, dann mag Gott mit dir sein, Wenn der Sklave nur sündigt, bist freilich du rein. Du sagst, daß auch droben Verbannung mir dräu': So leb' deinem Glauben, ich sterbe getreu. Was ich gab für den Glauben, wo fänd' ich's bei dir? Der Gott, der dir Macht ließ, bezeuget es mir. In ihm ruht mein Herz und mein hoffender Sinn; Mein Land und mein Leben, ich geb' es dir hin.
Authorship:
- by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846), "Wär ich wirklich so falsch", appears in Hebräische Gesänge, first published 1820 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Were my bosom as false as thou deem'st it to be", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 17, first published 1815
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by M. Henle , "Wär ich wirklich so falsch", op. 4 no. 2, published 1897 [ voice and piano ], from Hebräische Gesänge nach jüdischen Melodien, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Wär' ich wirklich so falsch?", op. 4 (Hebräische Gesänge) no. 3 (1823) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Thomas Jaenicke
This text was added to the website: 2004-07-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 109