by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Translation by Theodore Martin, Sir, KCB KCVO (1816 - 1909)

Depression
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Roses, ah, how fair ye be ! 
Ye are fading, dying ! 
Ye should with my lady be, 
On her bosom lying ; 

All your bloom is lost on me, 
Here despairing, sighing. 
Oh, the golden dreams I nursed, 
Ere I knew thy scorning, 

When I pour'd my passion first, 
And at break of morning, 
Pluck'd the rosebuds, ere they burst, 
For thy breast's adorning ! 

Every fruit and floweret rare, 
To thy feet I bore it, 
Fondly knelt, to see thee there, 
Bending fondly o'er it,

Text 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):

  • by A. J. H. , "Depression", published 1876-1898 [ voice and piano ], from Ten songs, no. 9, London : Novello, Ewer; reprinted in Women composers: from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1998 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Knud Lyne Rahbek (1760 - 1830) [an adaptation] ; composed by Friedrich Ludwig Æmelius Kunzen.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-10-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 83