Were I the rain | LiederNet

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by Julius Mosen (1803 - 1867)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wär' ich der Regen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Wär' ich der Regen,
Ich wollte mich legen
Der Erde an's Herz;
Wie sollte sie blühen
Und jauchzen und glühen!

Wär' ich die Sonne,
Ich sög' mich vor Wonne
In's dampfende Meer;
Wie sollt' es da rauschen,
Um Küsse zu tauschen! 

Könnt' ich verwehen,
Zu Nebel vergehen,
Zerfließen in Luft;
Ich hielt voll Erbarmen
Die Welt in den Armen. 

So mit dem Herzen
Voll Liebe und Schmerzen
Verglüh' ich allein
Und sinke in Flammen
Und Asche zusammen.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Sämmtliche Werke von Julius Mosen, Vierter Band, Der Congreß von Verona, Leipzig: Wilhelm Friedrich Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1880, page 207.

Text Authorship:

by Julius Mosen (1803 - 1867), no title, appears in Der Congreß von Verona [author's text checked 1 time 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 Julius (or Jules) André (1808 - 1880), "Sehnsucht", op. 57 ([Sieben] Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
by Hugo Brückler (1845 - 1871), "Sehnsucht", published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilhelm Freudenberg (1838 - 1928), "Sehnsucht", op. 8 (8 Lieder und Gesänge) no. 2 [ soprano or tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-06
Line count: 20
Word count: 77

Were I the rain

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Were I the rain,
I would lay myself
Upon the earth's heart;
How it should blossom
And rejoice and glow!

Were I the sun,
Out of sheer bliss I would 
Let myself be sucked into the steaming sea;
How it should roar then in order
To exchange kisses [with me]!

If I could dissipate,
Dissolve into mist,
Melt into air;
Full of compassion I would
Hold the world in my arms.

[But] thus with my heart
Full of love and pain,
I am extinguished in solitude
And I collapse into 
Flames and ashes.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Sehnsucht" = "Yearning"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 Julius Mosen (1803 - 1867), no title, appears in Der Congreß von Verona
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 93