Hat man viel, so wird man bald
Noch viel mehr dazu bekommen.
Wer nur wenig hat, dem wird
Auch das Wenige genommen.
Wenn du aber gar nichts hast,
Ach, so lasse dich begraben --
Denn ein Recht zum Leben, Lump,
Haben nur, die etwas haben.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Leonard Blake (b. 1936), "Weltlauf", published 1981 [ high voice and instrumental ensemble ], from From the mattress grave : a cycle of twelve songs to poems by Heine, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Caspar René Hirschfeld (b. 1965), "Weltlauf", op. 68 (Deutsche Lieder : Buch II für Gesang und Klavier) no. 16, published c2003 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Huber , "Weltlauf", from Dichter unbekannt, no. 26 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Janssens (b. 1934), "Weltlauf", published 1976, from Heinrich Heine Song Buch, no. 19 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Moser (b. 1943), "Weltlauf", published 1985 [ soprano with a strong low voice, piano, and actor with props ], from Heinelieder, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Georg Pflüger (1944 - 1999), "Weltlauf", op. 26 no. 1 [ bass-baritone and piano ], from Lazarus : zehn Lamentationen 'Aus der Matratzengruft' von Heinrich Heine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erich-Walter Sternberg (1891 - 1974), "Weltlauf", 1928?30?, published 1973 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Halochem ha'amitz = Der brave Soldat = The brave soldier, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Richard Gustav) Heinz Tiessen (1887 - 1971), "Weltlauf", op. 55 (Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine) no. 1, published 1951 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adriaan de Wit (b. 1952), "Weltlauf", op. 22 (Sieben Heine-Lieder) no. 2, published 1999 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Otokar Fischer) , "Běh světa"
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Palmer) , "Way of the world", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-09
Line count: 8
Word count: 44
Start out rich, and life will heap
Even greater wealth upon you.
Start with little wealth, and life
Takes that little swiftly from you.
When you've not a sou to spend,
Ah, you might as well be buried;
Only wealthy people, dolt,
May the earth by rights inherit.
