Seit die Liebste [war]1 entfernt,
[Hatt']2 ich's Lachen ganz verlernt.
Schlechten Witz [riß]3 mancher Wicht,
Aber lachen konnt' ich nicht.

Seit ich sie verloren hab,
Schafft' ich auch das Weinen ab;
[Fast]4 vor Weh das Herz mir bricht,
Aber weinen kann ich nicht.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg, 1827, page 139.

¹ Lang: "mir"
² Allitsen: "Hätt'", Lang: "Hab' "
³ Lang: "trieb"
⁴ Lang (1851 setting only): "Oft"

Authorship:

• by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 35 [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 (Mary) Frances Allitsen, née Bumpus (1848 - 1912), "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", published 1892 [ voice and piano ], from Album of Eight Songs [later reissued as Eight Songs from Poems by Heine], no. 5, London, R. Cocks, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Max Bauer , "Seit die Liebste mir entfernt" [ mezzo-soprano or baritone, piano ], from Sechs Lieder, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Erich van Ennes , "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", op. 4 (Fünf Lieder) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Don Forsythe (1932 - 2015), "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", published c2004-5 [ low voice and piano ], from Eine Dichtererzählung - Winterzyklus, no. 15 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Georg Karl Kulenkamp (1799 - 1850), "Lied von Heine (Seit ich die Liebste)", op. 48 (Sechs deutsche Gesänge (3tes Liederheft)) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Seit die Liebste mir entfernt", op. 38[39] (Sechs Lieder) no. 4 (1851), published 1867 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig und Winterthur, J. Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", 1835, published 2009 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Konstantin Sidorovich (flourished c1873), "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", from Fünf Lieder von Heine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gustav Thudichum (1866 - 1944), "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", op. 9 (Fünf Gesänge für Bariton mit Pianofortebegleitung), Heft 3 no. 1, published 1899 [ baritone and piano ], München, Schmid Nachf. [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, a translation by Franklin Johnson , "Seit die Liebste war entfernt", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, page 68, first published 1887 ; composed by Frances Allitsen, née Bumpus, Garnet Wolseley Cox, Ella Overbeck.
  • Go to the text.
    
• Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by John [Jacques] Jacobsson.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Since my beloved went away", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Charles Beltjens) , no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 35, first published 1827
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 43

Since my beloved went [away]1,
I [had]2 completely forgotten how to laugh.
Many a scoundrel made a bad joke,
But I could not laugh.
 
Since I have lost her,
I have also given up weeping;
My heart is [almost]3 breaking with pain,
But I cannot weep.