by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887)
Mein Herz, mein Herz ist traurig
Language: German (Deutsch)
Mein Herz, mein Herz ist traurig, doch lustig leuchtet der Mai; ich stehe, gelehnt an der Linde, hoch auf der alten Bastei. Da drunten fließt der blaue Stadtgraben in stiller Ruh; ein Knabe fährt im Kahne, und angelt und pfeift dazu. Jenseits erheben sich freundlich, in winziger, bunter Gestalt, Lusthäuser, und Gärten, und Menschen, und Ochsen, und Wiesen, und Wald. Die Mägde bleichen Wäsche, und springen im Gras herum; das Mühlrad stäubt Diamanten, ich höre sein fernes Gesumm. Am alten grauen Turme ein Schilderhäuschen steht; ein rotgeröckter Bursche dort auf und nieder geht. Er spielt mit seiner Flinte, die funkelt im Sonnenrot, er präsentiert und schultert - ich wollt, er schösse mich tot.
H. Henze sets stanzas 5-6
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 3 [author's text not yet checked 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 Hans Werner Henze (1926 - 2012), "Heimkehr", published 1974, stanzas 5-6 [ tenor, alto flute, English horn, clarinet in B-flat, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in c, trombone, timpani, violin/viola, viola, cello, bass ], from Stimmen, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Rottenberg (1864 - 1932), "Mein Herz, mein Herz ist traurig", published 1914, from Zwölf Lieder von Heinrich Heine, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erich Schröder , "Mein Herz, mein Herz ist traurig", published 2007, from Traumbilder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudi Spring (b. 1962), "Mein Herz, mein Herz ist traurig", op. 17 no. 3 (1983), published 2002, rev. 1997 [ tenor and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, no. 3, München (Munich), Verlag vierdreiunddreissig [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Adolf Succo (1802 - 1879), "Lied", op. 3 (Fünf deutsche Lieder von Freiligrath, Uhland, Heine und Schirmer) no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Auf der Bastei", op. 39 (Sechs Gedichte von Heine) no. 5, published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "My heart, my heart is mournful", copyright ©
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (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: 24
Word count: 113
My heart, my heart is heavy
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
My heart, my heart is heavy, Though merrily glows the May. Out on the ancient bastion, Under the lindens, I say. Below me the calm blue waters Of the quiet town-moat shine; A boy in his boat rows past me, He whistles and drops his line. And yonder the cheerful colors And tiny figures, one sees, Of people, and villas, and gardens, And cattle, and meadows, and trees. Young women are bleaching linen; They leap in the grass anear. The mill-wheel rains showers of diamonds, Its far away buzz I hear. Above on the gray old tower Stands the sentry house of the town, And a scarlet-coated fellow Goes pacing up and down. He toys with his shining musket That gleams in the sunset red, Presenting and shouldering arms now -- I wish he would shoot me dead.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887), appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 3
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: 2008-04-18
Line count: 24
Word count: 137