Poor Peter staggers past

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

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 Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Der arme Peter wankt vorbei

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA

Der arme Peter wankt vorbei,
Gar langsam, leichenblaß und scheu.
Es bleiben fast, wie sie ihn sehn,
Die Leute auf der Straße stehn.

Die Mädchen flüstern sich ins Ohr:
"Der stieg wohl aus dem Grab hervor?"
Ach nein, ihr lieben Jungfräulein,
Der steigt erst [ins]¹ Grab hinein.

Er hat verloren seinen Schatz,
Drum ist das Grab der beste Platz,
Wo er am besten liegen mag
Und schlafen bis zum jüngsten Tag.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Buch der Lieder von Heinrich Heine, zweiundfünfzigste Auflage (52nd edition), Hamburg, Hoffmann und Campe, 1882, page 53.

¹ Schumann: "in das"

Authorship:

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Junge Leiden, in Romanzen, in 4. Der arme Peter, no. 3 [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 Ludwig Leo Forwerk , "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 7 (Der arme Peter) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Peter Emile Gohr (1842 - 1899), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei" [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Friedrich Wilhelm Grund (1791 - 1874), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Der arme Peter", op. 116 (Acht Gedichte von H. Heine für S., A., T. und B.), Heft 2 no. 7, published 1865 [ SATB chorus ], Bremen, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
by Georg Kramm (1856 - 1910), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 6 no. 1, published 1884 [ voice and piano ], from Der arme Peter, no. 3, Hamburg, Jowien [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Krežma (1862 - 1881), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", 1878, from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Gustav Langer (1830 - 1889), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 5 (Drei Lieder) no. 3, from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Heinrich Lemcke (1812 - ?), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 2 no. 3, from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Mair (1821 - 1893), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 16 no. 3, from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Alfred Reisenauer (1863 - 1907), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", op. 13 (Balladen und Romanzen) no. 2, from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Albert Rubenson (1826 - 1901), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", from Der arme Peter (Med lust och fröjd) , no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Johan Gustaf) Emil Sjögren (1853 - 1918), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", 1875 [ voice and piano ], from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Johan August Söderman (1832 - 1876), "Der arme Peter wankt vorbei", published 1870 [ voice and orchestra or piano ], from Der arme Peter, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der arme Peter", op. 53 (Romanzen und Balladen für Singstimme und Klavier (Heft 3)) no. 3 (1840), published 1845 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Dufresne (d. 1953) ; composed by Tibor Harsányi.
Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Giovanni Sgambati.

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

FRE French (Français) (Maurice Dufresne)

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

Poor Peter staggers past

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 Poor Peter staggers past,
 quite slowly, as pale as a corpse, and shy.
 When they see him, 
 the people in the street almost stop in their tracks.
 
 Maidens whisper in one another's ears:
 "Surely he has risen from the grave!"
 But no, dear young girls,
 he has not yet climbed into his grave.
 
 He has lost his love;
 therefore the grave is the best place for him.
 There he might best lie
 and sleep until Judgment Day.

About the headline (FAQ)

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Junge Leiden, in Romanzen, in 4. Der arme Peter, no. 3

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 78