To her | Before I even saw you

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by Fritzsche

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

An Sie

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Noch eh' ich dich gesehen, 
Warst du schon meine Braut,
Wie muß ich dich erst lieben, 
Nun dich mein Auge schaut.

Dich soll das Auge schauen, 
Bis daß das Auge bricht
Und fern selbst an den Hangen
In Liedes Zauberlicht.

Im Liedes Zauberlichte
Wie du es selber sangest,
Da Seele du im Liede
In meine Seele drangest.

Text Authorship:

by Fritzsche [author's text not yet checked 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by Gustav Adolph Hölzel (1813 - 1883), "An Sie" [ voice and piano ], unpublished, confirmed with the manuscript in Huldigung der Tonsetzer Wiens an Ihre Majestät die allerdurchlauchtigste Frau Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Kaiserin von Österreich, Königin von Ungarn und Böhmen etc. Überreicht von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde des österreichischen Kaiserstaates 1854 held in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek [sung text checked 1 time]

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

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

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 57

To her

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Before I even saw you,
You were already my bride,
How much more must I love you
Now that my eyes look upon you.

My eyes shall look upon you
Until they close in death
And far off even on the declivities
In the magical light of song.

In the magical light of song
As you yourself sang it,
When you, the soul in the song,
Penetrated into my soul.

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 Fritzsche
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 70