Da nachts wir uns küßten, o Mädchen,
hat keiner uns zugeschaut.
Die Sterne, die standen am Himmel,
wir haben den Sternen getraut.

Es ist ein Stern gefallen,
der hat dem Meer uns verklagt,
da hat das Meer es dem Ruder,
das Ruder dem Schiffer gesagt.

Da sang [der selbige]1 Schiffer
es seiner Liebsten vor.
Nun singen's auf Straßen und Märkten
die [Knaben und Mädchen]2 im Chor.3

R. Schumann sets stanzas 1-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Zierau: "derselbe"
² Zierau: "Mädchen und Knaben"
³ Humperdinck adds:

Sie singen von unsrer Liebe,
von Wellen und Sternenlicht.
Lass Liebste, sie singen und raunen:
wir küssen und hören sie nicht!

An English translation by Malcolm Wren follows for that stanza:

They are singing of our love,
of waves and starlight.
My love, let them sing and whisper:
we shall kiss and not hear them!

Authorship:

• by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838), "Verratene Liebe (Neugriechisch)", written 1827, appears in Lieder und lyrisch epische Gedichte [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in French (Français) by Claude Charles Fauriel (1772 - 1844), "Les témoins de l'amour"
  • Go to the text page.

Based on:

• a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Ὁ ἒρωτας φανερωμένος", collected by N. G. Politis around 1900; this is text no. 124 of a selection of
  • 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):

• by Heinrich, Freiherr von Bach (1835 - 1915), as Heinrich Molbe, "Verrathene Liebe", op. 4 (Sechs Lieder) no. 4, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Rörich [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Böie (1822 - 1900), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 11 (Fünf Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1848 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by August Conradi (1821 - 1873), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 14 (Fünf Gesänge für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1850 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Damköhler [sung text not yet checked]
• by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Verratene Liebe", 1847-8 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gustav Hasse (1834 - 1889), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 18 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6, published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Bote & Bock [sung text not yet checked]
• by Engelbert Humperdinck (1854 - 1921), "Verratene Liebe" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Henning Karl Adam von Koss (1855 - 1913), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 5 (Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Glas [sung text not yet checked]
• by Franz Krinninger , "Verrathene Liebe", op. 15 (Zwei Quartette für Männerstimmen ) no. 1, published 1880 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], Wiener-Neustadt, Wedl [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hermann (Ernst?) Levi (1839 - 1900), "Verratene Liebe", op. 2 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2, published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann  [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Otto (1809 - 1842), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 5 no. 4, published 1877 [ vocal quartet of male voices a cappella ], from Sechs Gesänge für vier Männerstimmen, no. 4, Regensburg, Coppenrath [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl Piutti (1846 - 1902), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 7 (Sieben Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Verratene Liebe", op. 40 (Fünf Lieder für Singstimme und Klavier) no. 5 (1840), published 1842, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], Copenhagen, Lose  [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Nic. Thauret , "Verrathene Liebe", published 1884 [ medium voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 1, Mannheim, Heckel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Moritz Vogel (1846 - 1922), "Verrathene Liebe", op. 24 (Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1875 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Fritz Zierau (1856 - 1931), "Verratene Liebe" [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Verklikte liefde", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Betrayed love", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 66

 That night we kissed each other, o maiden,
 no one was observing us.
 The stars, which stood in the sky -
 we confided only in those stars.
 
 It was one star that fell,
 and accused us to the sea;
 then the sea told it to a rudder,
 and the rudder told it to a sailor.
 
 That same sailor sang it
 to his sweetheart.
 Now, on the streets and in the market,
 the boys and girls sing of it in chorus.