Per què rius així? | Per què rius així? Aquest so estrident em fa mal

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Salvador Pila

Was lachst du so?

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Was lachst du so? Mich schmerzt der gelle Ton.
In Ernst und Frieden laß, und ohne Hohn,
Uns auseinandergehen -- willst du nicht?
Ich möchte noch einmal dein Angesicht
Im alten Zauber sehn und möchte mich
Der Zeit erinnern, die so rasch verblich
Und die so träumeselig, leicht und froh
Und liebetrunken war -- was lachst du so?

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 491.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Was lachst du so?", written 1901 [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 Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Was lachst du so?", op. 24b no. 5 (1906), published 1917 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder nach Gedichten von Spitteler, Gamper, Hesse und Keller, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Per què rius així?", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Why do you laugh so?", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Pourquoi ris-tu ainsi ?", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website: 2009-06-09
Line count: 8
Word count: 56

Per què rius així?

Language: Catalan (Català) after the German (Deutsch)

Per què rius així? Aquest  so estrident em fa mal.
Separem-nos seriosament i en pau, i sense sarcasmes,
no voldries que fos així?
M'agradaria veure't la cara una vegada més
amb el seu vell encant, i m'agradaria recordar
aquell temps que es va esvair tan de pressa
i fou com en un somni, lleuger i alegre
i embriac d'amor — per què rius així?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2026 by Salvador Pila, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Was lachst du so?", written 1901
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-28
Line count: 8
Word count: 64