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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Charles Beltjens (1832 - 1890)

Die Erde war so lange geizig
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  FRE
Die Erde war so lange geizig,
Da kam der Mai, und sie ward spendabel,
Und alles lacht, und jauchzt, und freut sich,
Ich aber bin nicht zu lachen kapabel.

Die Blumen sprießen, die Glöcklein schallen,
Die Vögel sprechen wie in der Fabel;
Mir aber will das Gespräch nicht gefallen,
Ich finde alles miserabel.

Das Menschenvolk mich ennuyieret,
Sogar der Freund, der sonst passabel; -
Das kömmt, weil man Madame titulieret
Mein süßes Liebchen, so süß und aimabel.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg, 1827, page 133.


Text Authorship:

  • by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 28 [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 Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Die Erde war so lange geizig", 1994-5, published c1998 [ tenor and piano ], from Ein Liederbuch nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, Abteilung III, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (John Todhunter) , appears in Heine's Book of Songs, first published 1907
  • FRE French (Français) (Charles Beltjens) , no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 28, first published 1827
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-10-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 76

On eût dit l'univers de misère engourdi
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
On eût dit l'univers de misère engourdi :
Voici Mai qui le rend de nouveau supportable;
Tout jubile en riant, d'allégresse étourdi, --
Mais d'en prendre ma part je me sens incapable.

Tout fleurit; on entend les clochettes sonner,
Et parler les oiseaux, comme au temps delà fable;
-- A goûter leurs discours je ne puis m'adonner,
Et je trouve le monde un logis misérable.

L'être humain m'exaspère et m'accable d'ennui,
Mon intime lui-même, autrefois supportable :
-- C'est depuis que le nom de Madame est celui
De ma belle si douce, entre toutes aimable!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Beltjens (1832 - 1890), no title, appears in Intermezzo lyrique, no. 28, first published 1827 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 28
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-04-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 90

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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