by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Emily (Jane Davis) Pfeiffer (1827 - 1890)
Was treibt dich umher, in der...
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): FRE
Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht? Du hast die Blumen toll gemacht, Die Veilchen[, sie]1 sind erschrocken! Die Rosen, sie sind vor Schaam so roth, Die Liljen, sie sind so blaß wie der Tod, Sie klagen und zagen und stocken! O, lieber Mond, welch frommes Geschlecht Sind doch die Blumen! Sie haben Recht, Ich habe Schlimmes verbrochen! Doch konnt' ich wissen, daß sie gelauscht, Als ich von glühender Liebe berauscht, Mit den Sternen droben gesprochen?
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Neue Gedichte von H. Heine. Hamburg, bei Hoffmann und Campe, 1844, page 24.
1 omitted by GálAuthorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 17 [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 (Johann Hermann) Heinrich Böie (1825 - 1879), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 6 (Vier Gedichte von H. Heine) no. 4, published 1860 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Brandeis (1835 - 1899), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", published 1894 [ low voice and piano ], from Cyclus of six songs by Heine, no. 6, also set in English [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jan Bernard H. Bremer (b. 1830), "Was treibt dich umher", op. 1 (Sechs Gedichte) no. 4, published 18-? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Franz Dupont (1822 - ?), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 14 (Sechs LIeder) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann von Durra (1871 - 1954), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gottlieb Elsaesser , "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 3 (Lieder) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Sternenzwiesprach", 1911 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Gespräch", op. 16, Heft 1 (Frühling und Liebe) no. 6, published 1833 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksandr Petrovich Koptyayev (1868 - 1941), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 19 (Fünf Lieder) no. 5, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken (1810 - 1882), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 103 (Drei Lieder: Gedichte von Heine) no. 1, published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795 - 1866), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 14 (Ein Frühlingsspiel in drei mal drei Gedichten), Heft 2 no. 2, published 1845 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hugo Nolthenius (1848 - 1929), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", published 1894 [ voice and piano ], from Zwei Dichtungen von Heine für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 1, Amsterdam, De Algemeene Muziekhandel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elise Schmezer (1810 - 1856), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 17 (Drei Lieder für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1853 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Hamburg: Böhme [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Hieronymus Truhn (1811 - 1886), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", op. 18 (Liebeslust und Leid : Gedichte von Heine) no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Van Overeem , "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", from Neuer Frühling: 44 Lieder, no. 17 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Wilhelm Karl Vogrich (1852 - 1916), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", published 1890 [ voice and piano ], from Erstes Lieder-Album, no. 4, Leipzig, Hofmeister [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Emily (Jane Davis) Pfeiffer (1827 - 1890) , "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, pages 197-198, first published 1887 ; composed by George Frederick Boyle.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Frederick Brandeis.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Aleksandr Petrovich Koptyayev.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Qu'est-ce qui te pousse par ici, dans la nuit de printemps ?", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-04-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 76
What brings thee out in the sweet spring...
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
What brings thee out in the sweet spring night, To make the flowers half mad with fright? The violets are all of a flutter. The roses for very shame are red, The lilies -- pale as are the dead -- Impeach thee, beseech thee, and stutter. O thou dear Moon, of what pious sect Are then the flowers, that they detect My crimes without further token? How could I know they had listened and heard Each glowing, each love-besotted word That I with the stars had spoken?
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Emily (Jane Davis) Pfeiffer (1827 - 1890), "Was treibt dich umher, in der Frühlingsnacht?", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, pages 197-198, first published 1887 [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 Neue Gedichte, in Neuer Frühling, no. 17
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by George Frederick Boyle (1886 - 1948), "What brings thee out in the sweet spring night?", op. 31 (Six Songs : the words from 'New Spring' by H. Heine) no. 3, published 1909 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-12-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 85