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Ach weh mir unglückhaftem Mann, daß ich Geld und Gut nicht habe, Sonst spannt' ich gleich vier Schimmel an und führ' zu dir im Trabe. Ich putzte sie mit Schellen aus, daß du mich [hörtest]1 von weitem, Ich steckt' [ein]2 großen Rosenstrauß an meine linke Seiten. Und käm' ich an dein kleines Haus, thät' ich mit der Peitsche schlagen: Da gucktest du zum Fenster 'naus: "Was willst du?" thätst du fragen. "Was soll der großen Rosenstrauß, die Schimmel an dem Wagen?["] "Dich will ich," rief' ich, "komm heraus!" Da thätst du nimmer fragen. "Nun, Vater, Mutter, seht sie an und küßt sie rasch zum Scheiden, Weil ich nicht lange warten kann, meine Schimmel [wollen's]3 nicht leiden."
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Felix Dahn's Sämtliche Werke poetischen Inhalts, Band XVI, Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1898, page 69.
1 Strauss: "hört'st"2 Strauss: "ein'n"
3 Strauss: "wolln's"
Text Authorship:
- by Felix Ludwig Julius Dahn (1834 - 1912), no title, appears in Schlichte Weisen, no. 16 [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 Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Ach weh mir unglückhaftem Mann", op. 21 no. 4 (1887-1888), published 1890 [ voice and piano ], from Schlichte Weisen, no. 4, München, Aibl [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright ©
- ENG English [singable] (John Bernhoff) , "Ah woe is me, unhappy man!", first published 1897
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 119
Alas, I am an unlucky man, to have neither money nor goods; otherwise I would quickly harness four white horses and lead them into a trot. I would adorn them with bells, so that you could hear them from afar; I would stick a large bouquet of roses on my left side. And when I came to your little house, I would snap my whip, and you would look out of your window: "What do you want?" you would ask. "What are you doing with this large bouquet of roses, and these white horses and carriage?" "It is you I want," I would cry; "Come out!" And then you would ask no more questions. "Now, Father, Mother, gaze at her and kiss her quickly in farewell, for I cannot wait much longer - my horses won't tolerate it."
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Ach weh mir unglückhaftem Mann" = "Alas, I am an unlucky man"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Felix Ludwig Julius Dahn (1834 - 1912), no title, appears in Schlichte Weisen, no. 16
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 137