For as long as you are sober | For as long as you are sober

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by Malcolm Wren

Solang man nüchtern ist

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

[Solang]¹ man nüchtern ist, 
Gefällt das Schlechte;
Wie man getrunken hat, 
Weiß man das Rechte;
Nur ist das Übermaß 
Auch gleich zuhanden:
Hafis, o lehre mich, 
Wie du's verstanden!

Denn meine Meinung ist 
Nicht übertrieben:
Wenn man nicht trinken kann, 
Soll man nicht lieben;
Doch sollt ihr Trinker euch
Nicht besser dünken:
Wenn man nicht lieben kann, 
Soll man nicht trinken.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Wolf

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Wolf : "So lang"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 9. Das Schenkenbuch -- Saki Nameh [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 Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Trinklied aus dem Divan", op. posth. 75 (Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 3 (c1837), published 1849 [ four-part men's chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "So lang man nüchtern ist", 1889, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], from Goethe-Lieder, no. 36, Mainz, Schott [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
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "For as long as you are sober", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Finché si è sobri", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 61

For as long as you are sober

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

For as long as you are sober, 
you are pleased with what is bad;
When you have had a drink, 
you know what's what;
But then excess 
is on hand:
Hafiz, teach me 
how you understand this.

For my opinion 
isn't an exaggeration:
If you can't drink 
you can't love;
But then you drinkers shouldn't 
imagine yourself to be better:
If you can't love 
you can't drink.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Malcolm Wren, (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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 9. Das Schenkenbuch -- Saki Nameh
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2006-03-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 67