by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Belovèd, thou hast brought me many...
Language: English
Belovèd, thou [hast brought]1 me many flowers Plucked in [the]2 garden, all the summer through And winter, and it seemed as if they grew In [this]3 close room, nor missed the sun and showers. So, in the like name of that love of ours, Take back these thoughts which here unfolded too, And which on warm and cold days I withdrew From my heart's ground. Indeed, [those]4 beds and bowers Be overgrown with bitter weeds and rue, And wait thy weeding; yet here's eglantine, Here's ivy! -- take them, as I used to do Thy flowers, and keep them where they shall not pine. Instruct thine eyes to keep their colours true, And tell thy soul, their roots are left in mine.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Carpenter: "did'st bring"
2 Carpenter: "this"
3 Carpenter: "my"
4 Carpenter: "these"
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 44, first published 1850 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Gary Carpenter , "Transfiguration" [ mezzo-soprano or contralto and piano ], from Love's Eternity - Five Songs of Elizabeth Barrett Browning for Mezzo (or Contralto) & Piano, no. 4, Camden Music [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Poems and flowers", op. 42 no. ? (1926), published 1928 [ voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese, note: melody based on Chopin's Prelude no. 3 in G (op. 28) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Cheslock (1898 - 1981), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers" [ mezzo-soprano or tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Celius Dougherty (1902 - 1986), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers", 1975 [ soprano and piano ], from Eglantine and Ivy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 44 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Alexander Kimbell (b. 1946), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers", 1965-6, first performed 1966 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers", first performed 1994 [ voice, violoncello, and piano ], from Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Tahourdin (1928 - 2009), "Belovèd, thou hast brought me many flowers", 1968, first performed 1970 [ speaker, alto, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, tape ], from cantata Riders in Paradise [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 44, first published 1908 ; composed by Erich Anders, Maria Bach, as Emilie Maria von Bach.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 125
Du hast gewußt mir, mein Geliebter,...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Du hast gewußt mir, mein Geliebter, immer zu allen Zeiten Blumen herzulegen; als brauchten sie nicht Sonne und nicht Regen, gediehen sie in meinem engen Zimmer. Nun laß mich dir unter dem gleichen Zeichen die hier erwachsenen Gedanken reichen, die ich in meines Herzens Jahreszeiten aufzog und pflückte. In den Beeten streiten Unkraut und Raute. Du hast viel zu jäten; doch hier ist Efeu, hier sind wilde Rosen. Nimm sie, wie ich die deinen nahm, als bäten sie dich, in deine Augen sie zu schließen. Und sage deiner Seele, daß die losen in meiner Seele ihre Wurzeln ließen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 44, first published 1908 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 44, first published 1850
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Erich Anders (1883 - 1955), "Du hast gewußt mir, mein Geliebter", op. 28 no. 3, published 1918 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Portugiesische Sonette, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), as Emilie Maria von Bach, "Du hast gewusst", 1939 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fünf Sonette, no. 4, Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 98