by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA NOR
Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage,
Jene Tage der ersten Liebe,
Ach wer bringt nur eine Stunde
Jener holden Zeit zurück!

Einsam nähr' ich meine Wunde
Und mit stets erneuter Klage
Traur' ich [um's verlorne]1 Glück.

Ach, wer bringt die schönen Tage,
[Jene holde Zeit zurück!]2

A. Berg sets stanzas 1-2

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Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1827, page 63; and with Goethe's Schriften. Achter Band. Leipzig, bey Georg Joachim Göschen, 1789, page 113.

First written 1785 by Goethe for his fragmentary Singspiel "Die ungleichen Hausgenossen" (Arie der Baronesse, Act II), with different stanzas 2 and 3.

1 Nägeli: "um verlornes"
2 Schubert: "Wer jene holde Zeit zurück!"; Medtner, Zelter: "Wer bringt die holde, süße, liebe Zeit zurück?"

Authorship:

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

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Luigi Balestra (1808 - 1863) ; composed by Giuseppe Verdi.
  • Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Fabio Nannarelli (1825 - 1894) ; composed by Julián Aguirre, Giovanni Sgambati.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Nikolai Karlovich Medtner.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov (1829 - 1865) , "Первая потеря" ; composed by Ilya Vasilyevich Nekrasov, Boris Vladimirovich Podgoretsky.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Eerste verlies", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "First loss", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Premier manque", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Ah, chi mi riporterà i giorni belli", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Det første tap", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Richard Morris , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 46