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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net
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.
O wär' ich ein See, so spiegelhell, Und du die Sonne, die ihm blickte! O wär' ich ein klarer Wiesenquell, Und du die Blume, die ihm nickte! O wär' ich ein grüner Rosendorn Und du die Rose, die ihn schmückte! O wär' ich ein süßes, süßes Korn, Und du der Vogel, der es pickte!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Georg Daumer, Hafis. Eine Sammlung persischer Gedichte: nebst poetischen Zugaben aus verschiedenen Völkern und Ländern, Hamburg, Hoffmann und Campe, 1846, page 9.
Text Authorship:
- by Georg Friedrich Daumer (1800 - 1875), no title, appears in Hafis - Eine Sammlung persischer Gedichte, in Hafis, no. 17, first published 1846 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Persian (Farsi) by Hafis (c1327 - 1390) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl Debrois van Bruyck (1828 - 1902), "Gedicht von Hafiz" [ voice and piano ], unpublished, confirmed with the manuscript in Huldigung der Tonsetzer Wiens an Ihre Majestät die allerdurchlauchtigste Frau Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Kaiserin von Österreich, Königin von Ungarn und Böhmen etc. Überreicht von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde des österreichischen Kaiserstaates 1854 held in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Friedrich) August Bungert (1845 - 1915), "O wär ich ein See", op. 4 no. 2, published 1872 [ voice and piano ], from Junge Lieder : Viertes Buch, no. 2, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Emmerich (1836 - 1891), "Aus dem Hafis", op. 21 (Acht Gesänge) no. 5, published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Frankfurt a/M., Henkel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850 - 1900), "O wär' ich ein See", H. 101 (1868) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arno Kleffel (1840 - 1913), "Aus Hafis", op. 23 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Erler [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Músiol (1846 - 1903), "Persisches Lied", op. 64 (Zwei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1895 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig-Reudnitz, Rühle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jakob Rosenhain (1813 - 1894), "O, wär' ich ein See so spiegelhell", op. 76 (Sechs persische Lieder und Gesänge von Hafis und Mirza Schaffy, für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "O wär' ich ein See", op. 10 (6 Lieder für Sopran ) no. 3, published 1864 [ soprano and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946) , "Wünsche", appears in Hafis ; composed by Ivar Henning Mankell, Karol Maciej Szymanowski, Grete von Zieritz.
- Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Stanisław Barącz (1864 - 1936) ; composed by Karol Maciej Szymanowski.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Afanasy Afanas'yevich Fet (1820 - 1892) , no title, first published 1859 ; composed by Anatoly Nikolayevich Aleksandrov, Nikolai Nikolayevich Cherepnin, Aleksandr Tikhonovich Gretchaninov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 54
Oh, were I a lake, so mirror-bright, And you the sun, who looked at it! Oh, were I a clear water-spring in the meadow, And you the flower who nodded at it! Oh, were I a thorny green rosebush, And you the rose that adorned it! Oh, were I a sweet, sweet kernel of wheat And you the bird who pecked it up!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Aus dem Hafis" = "From Hafiz"
"Aus Hafis" = "From Hafiz"
"Gedicht von Hafiz" = "Poem by Hafiz"
"O wär ich ein See" = "Oh, were I a lake"
"O, wär' ich ein See so spiegelhell" = "Oh, were I a lake so mirror-bright"
"Persisches Lied" = "Persian song"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Friedrich Daumer (1800 - 1875), no title, appears in Hafis - Eine Sammlung persischer Gedichte, in Hafis, no. 17, first published 1846
Based on:
- a text in Persian (Farsi) by Hafis (c1327 - 1390) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2025-01-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 63