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O sagt, ihr Lieben, mir einmal, Welch Ding ist's, Licht genannt? Was sind des Sehens Freuden all', Die niemals ich gekannt? Die Sonne, die so hell ihr seht, Mir Armen scheint sie nie; Ihr sagt, sie auf und nieder geht, Ich weiß nicht wann, noch wie. Ich mach' mir selbst so Tag [wie]1 Nacht, Dieweil ich schlaf' und spiel', Mein inn'res Leben schön mir lacht, Ich hab' der Freuden viel. Zwar kenn' ich nicht, was euch erfreut, Doch drückt mich keine Schuld, D'rum freu' ich mich in meinem Leid, Und trag' es mit Geduld. Ich bin so glücklich, bin so reich Mit dem, was Gott mir gab, Bin wie ein König froh, obgleich Ein armer blinder Knab'.
Note: Schubert received Craigher's poem in handwritten form. Craigher did not include it in the printed edition of his poems.
1 Schubert (first print 1827 and Alte Gesamtausgabe): "und"Text Authorship:
- by Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta (1797 - 1855), "Der blinde Knabe"
Based on:
- a text in English by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der blinde Knabe", op. 101 no. 2, D 833 (1825), published 1827, first performed 1829 [ voice, piano ], attachment to Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De blinde jongen", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "The blind lad", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le garçon aveugle", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il fanciullo cieco", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 117
Oh, dites, mes chers, à moi une fois Quelle est cette chose qu'on appelle lumière ? Que sont toutes les joies de la vue, Que je ne peux jamais voir. Le soleil que vous voyer si clair, Il ne brille pas pour moi, pauvre garçon ; Vous dites qu'il se lève et qu'il se couche, Moi je ne sais pas quand ni comment. Je fais moi-même la nuit et le jour, Quand je dors et je joue, Ma vie intérieure me sourit bien, J'ai beaucoup de plaisirs. À la vérité je ne sais pas ce qui vous réjouit, Pourtant aucune faute ne m'oppresse, De cela je me réjouis dans mon chagrin Et je le supporte avec patience. Je suis si content, je suis si riche Avec ce que Dieu m'a donné, Je suis heureux comme un roi, bien que je ne sois Qu'un pauvre garçon aveugle.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2010 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Jakob Nikolaus Craigher de Jachelutta (1797 - 1855), "Der blinde Knabe"
Based on:
- a text in English by Colley Cibber (1671 - 1757), "The blind boy"
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 144