sometimes misattributed to Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856) and by Friedrich Georg Christoph Philipp Mayer (1804 - 1857)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs, Harald Krebs

Frühes Sterben
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Wie die Wellen still sich legen
  Nach dem leichten Abendwind,
Wie die Mutter sorgsam [wieget]1
  In den Schlaf [ein]2 liebes Kind;
 
Möchte ich mein heißes Sehnen
  In der Seele wiegen ein,
Und ['ne]3 alte schlimme Klage
  Sollt' damit verklungen seyn.
 
Spielend mit den Frühlingsluften
  Wird die Blume rosenroth,
Aber in dem zarten Kelche
  Schlummert [leis]4 ihr früher Tod.
 
So geschieht's auch meiner Liebe
  In dem stets bewegten Herz,
Hat ihr [Leben kaum]5 begonnen,
  Fühlt sie schon des Todes Schmerz.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. Lang 

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Der Nürnberger Lustwandler. Ein Blatt für gesellige Unterhaltung, Nro. 56 (Donnerstag den 11. May 1837) page 223.

1 Lang: "leget"
2 Lang: "ihr"
3 Lang: "die"
4 Lang: "auch"
5 Lang: "Lieben auch"

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) (Harald Krebs) , "Early death", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Joanna Lonergan , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2005-03-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 84

Early death
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Just as the waves come to rest
  After the soft evening breeze,
Just as a mother solicitously
  [Rocks a dear child]1 to sleep,
 
Thus would I like to rock to sleep
  The fervent yearning in my soul,
And [an]2 old, evil lament
  Would therewith have faded away.
 
Playing with the breezes of spring,
  The flower turns rose-red,
But in the tender chalice
  [Quietly slumbers]3 its early death.
 
Thus it happens to my love as well,
  In my ever-restless heart;
[When its life has barely]4 begun
  It already feels the pangs of death.

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Lang: "places her dear child down"
2 Lang: "the"
3 Lang: "Slumbers too"
4 Lang: "As soon as its loving has"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Sharon Krebs and Harald 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.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2006-12-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 96