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by Eduard Vogt (1814 - 1880)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs
Des Hammerschmieds Liebe
Language: German (Deutsch)
Es steht [ein]1 Haus im finstern Schacht, Die Werke rasseln Tag und Nacht, Der Waldbach braust, Der Blasbalg saust, Der Hammer schallt, die Eisen [sprüh'n]2 Und hohe Flammen mich umglüh'n. Im Thale drunten still und klein, Da wohnt des Müllers Töchterlein -- Sie küsst mich nie, Die Ann'marie, Sie meint, Schwarz passe nicht zu Weiß -- Wenn Schwarz nicht wär', [wär' denn ein]3 Weiss! Wenn Nacht und Tag sich eng verflicht, Giebt's nicht ein güld'nes Dämmerlicht? Kann schön'res seyn Als Morgenschein? O Ann'marie! du weisst es nicht, Wie Farbe sich an Farbe bricht. [Säßst]4 du am Ambos hier bei mir, Die schönen Flammen zeigt' ich dir -- Sie hat die Nacht Zu Tag gebracht, Und sähst du mich im Flammenmeer Sagt'st nicht, dass ich so hässlich wär'. Oft sitz' ich da [in stillem]5 Traum, Und hör' um mich das Tosen kaum, Wie Hammer schallt, Und Kohle knallt, Und aus den Funken graus und wild Setz' ich zusammen mir dein Bild. Da faßt's mich an wie Fieberschau'r -- Verflogen ist die stumme Trau'r -- Die Werke los! Hei! Stoß auf Stoß! Die Flamme schlägt zum Ofen 'raus Die Funken sprüh'n zum Schlot hinaus. Die Erde dröhnt vom Hammerschlag -- Dringt's nicht in deinen Gartenhag? Denkst [nicht]6 an mich, Wie ich an dich? O Ann'marie, hörst du denn nicht Wie [Hammerschmiedes Liebe]7 spricht?
View original text (without footnotes)
2 von Goethe: "glüh'n"
3 von Goethe: "wie wär' denn"
4 von Goethe: "Sähst" (likely an error)
5 von Goethe: "im stillen"
6 von Goethe: "du"
7 von Goethe: "Hammerschmiede lauter"
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
Confirmed with Eduard Vogt, Gedichte, Stuttgart: Hallberger'sche Verlagshandlung, 1839, pages 243-245.
1 von Goethe: "mein"2 von Goethe: "glüh'n"
3 von Goethe: "wie wär' denn"
4 von Goethe: "Sähst" (likely an error)
5 von Goethe: "im stillen"
6 von Goethe: "du"
7 von Goethe: "Hammerschmiede lauter"
Text Authorship:
- by Eduard Vogt (1814 - 1880), "Des Hammerschmieds Liebe" [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 Walter von Goethe (1817 - 1885), "Des Hammerschmieds Liebe", op. 7 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5, published 1841 [ voice and piano ], Bonn: N. Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The blacksmith's love", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The blacksmith's love", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-12-01
Line count: 42
Word count: 222
The blacksmith's love
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
[A]1 house stands in a dark shaft, The works clatter day and night, The forest brook roars, The bellows blow mightily, The hammer sounds, the irons [spark]2, And tall flames glow around me. Down in the valley, silent and small, There lives the daughter of the miller -- She never kisses me, That Annmarie, She reckons that black does not go with white -- [But] if there were no black, how then could there be white! When night and day are closely joined, Is there not a golden twilight? Can there be anything more beautiful Than morning glow? Oh Annmarie! you do not know How colour refracts upon colour. If you [were sitting]3 by the anvil here near me, I would show you the beautiful flames -- The night has Brought them to light, And if you saw me in the sea of flames You would not say that I am so ugly. Often I sit there in a quiet dream, And hardly hear the commotion around me, How the hammer resounds, And the coals crack, And from the sparks, gruesome and wild, I piece together your image for myself. Then it comes over me like the shivering of a fever, The mute sorrowing is dissipated -- Set the works going! Ha! Blow upon blow! The flame leaps forth from the stove The sparks spray forth from the chimney. The earth booms from the hammer-blows -- Does the sound not penetrate into your garden grove? Do [you not]4 think of me, As I think of you? Oh Annmarie, do you not hear How [the blacksmith's love speaks]5?
View original text (without footnotes)
1 von Goethe: "My"
2 von Goethe: "glow"
3 von Goethe: "saw" (likely an error)
4 von Goethe: "you"
5 von Goethe: "the blacksmith speaks more loudly"
1 von Goethe: "My"
2 von Goethe: "glow"
3 von Goethe: "saw" (likely an error)
4 von Goethe: "you"
5 von Goethe: "the blacksmith speaks more loudly"
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 Eduard Vogt (1814 - 1880), "Des Hammerschmieds Liebe"
This text was added to the website: 2025-12-16
Line count: 42
Word count: 268