How Heaven smiles for me

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by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wie mir der Himmel lacht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Wie mir der Himmel lacht
Aus deinem Angesicht,
Du ahnst es nicht!
  Und wenn dein Mund ein einzig Wörtlein spricht,
Wie gleich voll Pracht
Mir himmlischer Gesang erwacht!

  Wie mir der Frühling lacht!
Aus jeder Knospe licht
Die Blüthe bricht!
  Dein ist das Himmelreich! du ahnst es nicht,
Mit welcher Macht,
O Kind, mein Kind, dich Gott bedacht!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874. Mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, page 258.

Note: in the Kistner catalog, the entry reads: " No 1. "Wie mir der Himmel lacht," von Fr. Oser, Strophe II vom Componisten", which means Walther only used the first stanza above. We will make note of the stanza with which Walther replaced the second stanza when we obtain it.

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Wie mir der Himmel lacht ", appears in Liederbuch, in 3. Hauslieder, no. 287 [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 Ottobald Walther (b. 1835), "Wie mir der Himmel lacht aus deinem Angesicht", op. 4 (Drei Lieder für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1877 [ baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 59

How Heaven smiles for me

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  How Heaven smiles for me
From out of your face,
You have no idea!
  And when your lips speak a single little word,
How heavenly singing immediately wakens 
For me, full of splendour!

  How springtime smiles for me!
From every bright bud
The blossom springs!
  Yours is the realm of Heaven! you have no idea
What power, oh child, my child, 
God has bestowed upon you!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Wie mir der Himmel lacht " = "How Heaven smiles for me"
"Wie mir der Himmel lacht aus deinem Angesicht" = "How Heaven smiles for me from out of your face"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Friedrich Heinrich Oser (1820 - 1891), "Wie mir der Himmel lacht ", appears in Liederbuch, in 3. Hauslieder, no. 287
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-06-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 67