Ist das Herz dir krank
Language: German (Deutsch)
Ist das Herz dir krank,
Voller Gram und Pein,
All dein Muth dahin,
Weißt nicht aus noch ein:
Weiß ein Mittel dir,
Armer, glaube mir,
Bald wird's besser, besser sein:
In die Augen tief
Deinem Kinde schau,
Drin der Himmel strahlt,
O wie klar und blau!
Ob dein Grämen nicht
Wie das Eis zerbricht,
Wenn die Lüfte wehen lau!
Wenn's im Lächeln zeigt
Seine Zähnlein blank,
Wenn's dich fest umschlingt
Mit den Ärmlein schlank,
O versuch' es doch,
Glaub's, das hilft dir noch,
Wenn die letzte Hoffnung sank.
Hilft auch das nicht mehr,
Freilich, freilich dann,
Hilft kein Mensch dir sonst,
O du armer Mann!
Gott, der Herr, behüt
Solch ein arm Gemüth,
Das ein Kind nicht heilen kann!
Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, pages 251-252.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "When your heart is sick", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Senior Associate Editor]This text was added to the website: 2026-02-07
Line count: 28
Word count: 119
When your heart is sick
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
When your heart is sick,
Full of misery and pain,
All your courage spent,
When you do not know what to do:
I know a solution for you,
Poor one, believe me,
Soon it shall get better, get better:
Look deeply into
The eyes of your child,
Within them Heaven stands radiant,
Oh, how clear and blue!
See if your grieving does not
Break up like ice
When the balmy breezes blow!
When in smiling your child
Shows its shining little teeth,
When it embraces you tightly
With its slender little arms,
Oh, do try it,
Believe me, that can help you
Even when your last hope has gone.
If even that no longer helps,
Truly, truly then
No other human can help you,
Oh, you poor man!
May the Lord God protect
A spirit so poor
That a child cannot heal it!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Sharon Krebs, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 143
