The maiden speaks | Swallow, tell me

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Otto Friedrich Gruppe (1804 - 1876)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Schwalbe, sag mir an

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Schwalbe, sag mir an,
Ist's dein alter Mann
Mit dem du's Nest gebaut,
Oder hast du jüngst erst
Dich ihm vertraut?

Sag', was zwitschert ihr, 
Sag', was flüstert ihr
Des Morgens so vertraut?
Gelt, du bist wohl auch noch 
Nicht lange Braut?

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Gedichte von O. F. Gruppe, Gedruckt und verlegt bei G. Reimer, 1835, p. 55.

Text Authorship:

by Otto Friedrich Gruppe (1804 - 1876), no title, first published 1835 [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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Das Mädchen spricht", op. 107 (Fünf Lieder) no. 3 (1886), published 1888 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La donzella parla", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Het meisje spreekt", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The maiden speaks", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La fille dit", copyright © 2008, (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: 10
Word count: 42

The maiden speaks

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Swallow, tell me,
was it your old husband
with whom you built your nest,
or have you just recently
entrusted yourself to him?

Tell me what you twitter about,
tell me what you whisper about
in the mornings, so confidentially?
Eh? You haven't been
a bride for very long, have you?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Otto Friedrich Gruppe (1804 - 1876), no title, first published 1835
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 51