Ich fragte dich, warum dein Auge gern In meinem Auge ruht, So wie ein reiner Himmelsstern In einer dunklen Flut. Du sahest lang mich an, Wie man ein Kind mit Blicken mißt, Und sagtest freundlich dann: Ich bin dir gut, weil du so traurig bist.
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Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 42.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Ich fragte dich", written 1898, appears in Maria, no. 4 [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 Werner Bühler (1904 - 1968), "Ich fragte dich, warum dein Auge" [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Ich fragte dich, warum dein Auge", op. 97 no. 4 (>>1942?), published 1958 [ voice and piano ], from Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Pütz , "Ich fragte dich, warum dein Auge gern ", 1951 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder nach Texten von Hermann Hesse, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Christian Immo Schneider (b. 1935), "Ich fragte dich ", op. 7 no. 6 [ high voice and piano ], from Zehn romantische Lieder für mittlere Stimme nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Xaver Zintl (1903 - 1987), "Ich fragte dich warum dein Auge gern", 1949 [ baritone and piano ], one of two settings [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Xaver Zintl (1903 - 1987), "Ich fragte dich ", op. 8 no. 3 (1950) [ baritone and piano ], from Maria - Liederzyklus für Bariton, no. 3, one of two settings [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2017, (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: 2009-05-01
Line count: 8
Word count: 45