by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Léon Valade (1841 - 1884)

Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE IRI ITA ITA
Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht,    
Es fiel auf die [zarten]1 Blaublümelein:
Sie sind verwelket, [verdorrt]2.

Ein Jüngling hatte ein Mädchen lieb;   
Sie flohen heimlich [von]3 Hause fort,
Es [wußt']4 weder Vater noch Mutter.

Sie sind gewandert hin und her,
Sie haben gehabt weder Glück noch Stern,
Sie sind [verdorben, gestorben]5.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Author's note: Dieses ist ein wirkliches Volkslied, welches ich am Rheine gehört --Heine (Translation: This is a real folksong that I heard on the Rhein)

See also Backer-Grøndahl's song, which uses some of this text.

1 Hiller, Mendelssohn: "bunten"
2 Hermann, Hiller, Mendelssohn, Rubinstein, Schumann: "verdorret"
3 Rubinstein: "vom"
4 Hermann, Hiller: "wusst's"
5 Hiller, Mendelssohn, C. Schumann: words reversed.

Authorship:

Based on:

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


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Bohuslav Martinů.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Henry Grafton Chapman (1860 - 1913) ; composed by Willem Willeke.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Léon Valade (1841 - 1884) , no title, appears in Nocturnes, in Tragédie, no. 2, first published 1880 ; composed by Claude Achille Debussy.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Oskar Ulmer.
  • Also set in Japanese (日本語), a translation by Chuya Nakahara (1907 - 1937) ; composed by Tsuguji Murai.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by A. Vessel.
  • Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johan August Söderman.
  • Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johan August Söderman.

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] (August Matthijs)
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Er viel eens rijp in de lentenacht", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , "There fell a frost on a night of Spring", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English [singable] (Constance Bache)
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Discese la brina...", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Canzone popolare", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 52

Les petites fleurs n'ont pu vivre
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Les petites fleurs n'ont pu vivre. 
Une nuit d'avril a surpris 
Leurs calices bleus : sous le givre 
Ils sont morts, ils se sont flétris.

Deux enfants s'aimaient d'amour tendre.
Un beau jour le couple est parti : 
Parti du pays ! sans attendre 
Que père ou mère eût consenti ... 

Partout leur fuite vagabonde 
S'est buttée à de mauvais sorts ;
Ils n'ont eu nul bonheur au monde 
Ils se sont flétris, ils sont morts !

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Léon Valade, Nocturnes: Poëmes imités de Henri Heine, Paris, A. Patay, 1880, p. 35.


Authorship:

Based on:

Based on:

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


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-08-31
Line count: 12
Word count: 77