Augen, sagt mir, sagt, was sagt ihr?
Denn ihr sagt was gar zu Schönes,
Gar des lieblichsten Getönes;
Und in gleichem Sinne fragt ihr!
Doch ich glaub' euch zu erfassen:
Hinter dieser Augen Klarheit
Ruht ein Herz in Lieb' und Wahrheit
Jetzt sich selber überlassen,
Dem es wohl behagen müßte,
Unter so viel stumpfen, blinden,
Endlich einen Blick zu finden,
Der es auch zu schätzen wüßte.
Und indem ich diese Chiffern
Mich versenke zu studieren,
Laßt euch ebenfalls verführen,
Meine Blicke zu entziffern!
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Selmar Bagge (1823 - 1896), "April", op. 18 (Sechs Gedichte von Goethe für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1885 [ tenor or soprano and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "April", 1836 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernst Otto Nodnagel (1870 - 1909), "April", op. 23 no. 3, published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Scheidegruss. Vier lyrische Recitative für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 3, Leipzig, Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Pepping (1901 - 1981), "April", 1946, published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from Haus- und Trostbuch, no. 24 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "April", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Avril", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 83
Eyes, tell me, tell me what you are saying!
For you are telling me something all too fair,
in all too lovely tones;
and you are also asking me something at the same time!
But I believe that I grasp your meaning:
behind the clarity of these eyes
rests a heart full of love and truth,
now left to its own devices,
one that now must well relish that,
among so many dull or blind ones,
it has finally found one gaze
that knows how to treasure it.
And while this cypher
occupies my study,
may you likewise be seduced
to decipher my own gaze!