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
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.
Über meines Liebchens Äugeln Stehn verwundert alle Leute; Ich, der Wissende, dagegen Weiß recht gut was das bedeute. Denn es heißt: ich liebe diesen, Und nicht etwa den und jenen. Lasset nur ihr guten Leute Euer Wundern, euer Sehnen! Ja, mit ungeheuren Mächten Blicket sie wohl in die Runde; Doch sie sucht nur zu verkünden Ihm die nächste süße Stunde.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand. Fünfter Band. Unter des durchlauchtigsten deutschen Bundes schützenden Privilegien. Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. 1827, page 60; and with West-oestlicher Divan. von Goethe. Stuttgard, in der Cottaischen Buchhandlung 1819, page 60.
Note: line 1 begins in this edition with "Ueber", but we've changed it to the umlauted form to match the spelling of the lower-case versions.
Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Geheimes", written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 3. Buch der Liebe -- Uschk Nameh, first published 1819 [author's text checked 2 times 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 (Franz) Carl Adalbert Eberwein (1786 - 1868), "Geheimes" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Huber (1852 - 1921), "Über meines Liebchens Äugeln", op. 69 no. 5, published 1883 [ SATB quartet and piano four-hands ], from Aus Goethe's west-östlichem Divan. Zehn Quartette für S., A., T. und B. mit vierhändiger Pianofortebegleitung, no. 5, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Salomon Jadassohn (1831 - 1902), "Über meines Liebchens Äugeln", op. 78 (Fünf Gesänge für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 2, published 1886 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Geheimes", op. 14 (Zwei Lieder) no. 2, D 719 (1821), published 1822 [ voice and piano ], Cappi und Diabelli, VN 1163, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Geheim", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (David Gordon) , "Secret", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Secret", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Pupillo) (Claretta Manara) , "Il segreto", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Segreto", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: David Gordon , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 60
Degli sguardi dell'amore mio tutti restano meravigliati. Ma io, che so, capisco bene che cosa significano; Vuol dire: amo questo, e non quello e quell'altro: basta dunque, brava gente, con la meraviglia e i desideri! Sì, con poteri straordinari volge lo sguardo intorno; ma vuole solo promettere la nostra prossima ora d'amore.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2006 by Amelia Maria Imbarrato, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Amelia Maria Imbarrato. We have no current contact information for the copyright-holder.
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Geheimes", written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 3. Buch der Liebe -- Uschk Nameh, first published 1819
This text was added to the website: 2006-01-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 52