Le poète | Et si les gens avisés voulaient me demander

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by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Und wollen mich die klugen Leute fragen

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Und wollen mich die klugen Leute fragen,
Von wem ich es gelernt, in Versen sprechen:
Im Herzen muß ich jene Gluten tragen,
Die klingend, singend dann zu Tage brechen.
Am Tag, wo Nena mir zuerst begegnet,
Da ward mit Versen mir der Geist gesegnet.
Am Tag, [wo]¹ Nena's Lächeln mich [ließ]² hoffen,
Sah ich die Thür des Paradieses offen,
Und heut, [wo]¹ Nena's Herz in Flammen steht,
Bin ich ein großer König und Poet.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Marx

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

In a footnote to Line 5 Heyse informs readers that "Nena" is a short form of "Maddalena" ("Abkürzung von Maddalena").

Confirmed with Paul Heyse, Italienisches Liederbuch, Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz (Bessersche Buchhandlung), 1860, page 3.

¹ Marx: "da"
² Marx: "hieß"

Text Authorship:

by Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Umbrisch, no. 1, first published 1860 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , no title, appears in Canti popolari inediti, in 1. Canti popolari umbri, no. 1
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Joseph Marx (1882 - 1964), "Der Dichter", 1912 [ baritone and piano ], from Italienisches Liederbuch, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The poet", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le poète", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-28
Line count: 10
Word count: 77

Le poète

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Et si les gens avisés voulaient me demander
De qui j'ai appris à perler en vers [je dirais]¹ :
Je dois porter en mon cœur cette braise
Qui, retentissante et chantante va éclater au jour.
Dès le premier jour où je rencontrai Néna
Mon esprit fut voué à la poésie.
Le jour où le sourire de Néna me fit espérer,
Je vis s'ouvrir les portes du paradis,
Et aujourd'hui, alors que s'enflamme le cœur de Néna,
Je suis un grand roi et un poète.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2020 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Paul Heyse (1830 - 1914), no title, appears in Italienisches Liederbuch, in Rispetti, in Umbrisch, no. 1, first published 1860
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , no title, appears in Canti popolari inediti, in 1. Canti popolari umbri, no. 1
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2020-12-16
Line count: 10
Word count: 83