Song from Faust | She was prettier than the prettiest day

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by J. Lee Riccardi

War schöner als der schönste Tag

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE ITA

War schöner als der schönste Tag,
Drum muß man mir verzeihen,
Daß ich sie nicht vergessen mag,
Am wenigsten im Freien.
Im Garten war's, sie trat heran,
Mir ihre Gunst zu zeigen;
Das fühl ich noch und denke dran
Und bleib ihr ganz zu eigen.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Poetische Werke, Band 2, Berlin, 1960, page 106.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, appears in Chinesisch-deutsche Jahres- und Tageszeiten, no. 7 [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 Albert Hermann Dietrich (1829 - 1908), "War schöner, als der schönste Tag", op. 12 (Fünf Lieder von Goethe) no. 3, published 1861 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Canzonette", 1835, published 1836 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795 - 1866), "Aus Chinesich-deutsche Jahres- und Tageszeiten", op. 2 no. 10, published 1830 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gesänge, no. 10, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Wendelin Weißheimer (1838 - 1910), "Sie" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (J. Lee Riccardi) , "Song from Faust", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Elle était plus belle que le jour le plus beau", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Canzonetta", copyright © 2006, (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: 8
Word count: 45

Song from Faust

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

She was prettier than the prettiest day,
and so one has to forgive me,
because I cannot forget her,
especially outdoors.

She came into the garden
to show her kindness;
I feel it still and think of it
and remain totally hers.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2007 by J. Lee Riccardi, (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, appears in Chinesisch-deutsche Jahres- und Tageszeiten, no. 7
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2007-11-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 42