O wär' mein Lieb' jen' Röslein roth Dort an dem alten Burgverließ, und o wär ich ein Tröpflein Thau, und fiel ihm die Brüst so süß! O Wonnemeer, in dem ich schwelg', An seinem Reiz ich selig hing, Die ganze Nacht in seinem Kelch Bis ich im Morgenstrahl verging.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: due to a similarity in first lines, this text is often erroneously indicated to be a (very loose) translation of Burns' poem O my Luve's like a red, red rose, but this is in fact a translation of the second stanza of "Oh were my love yon lilac fair". For some reason, Kaufmann does not appear to have translated the first stanza; also he divided the stanza he translated into two four-line stanzas. Further confusing matters, Bendel's setting of this text is subtitled "Ungarisch" (according to Hofmeister), which would normally indicate that the text is a translation from the Hungarian.
Text Authorship:
- by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846), no title, appears in Gedichte von Robert Burns, first published 1839 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O were my Love yon lilac fair"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz Bendel (1833 - 1874), "Röslein am Burgverlies", subtitle: "Ungarisch", op. 106 no. 5, published 1880 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Grüße aus schöner Zeit. Sechs Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran mit Pianoforte, no. 5, Leipzig, Senff [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "O wär mein Lieb' jen' Röslein Rot", alternate title: "Wär ich ein Tröpflein Thau", 1906 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, Vol. II (1904-08), no. 51 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wilhelm Mayer (1831 - 1898?), "Wär' ich ein Tröpflein Thau" [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from 3 Gesänge, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Henri-François-Louis-Auguste Potez (1863 - c1946) ; composed by André Gédalge, Pierre Nau.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Wilhelm Ernst von Winterfeld (1824 - 1888) , "O, wär' mein Lieb die Fliederblüth'" ; composed by Otto Bach, Ernst Paul Flügel.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by L. G. Silbergleit , "O wär' mein Lieb" ; composed by Jan Karol Gall, Eugène Jámbor, Rudolf Krzyzanowski.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) , no title [an adaptation] ; composed by Carl Banck, Frederick Brandeis, August Conradi, Wilhelm Heiser, Ludwig Hoffmann, Carl Hohfeld, Carl August Krebs, Arnold Krug, Anton Maier, C. Adolph Oberdörffer, Hans Michael Schletterer, Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johann Baptiste André.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "Oh, si el meu amor fos aquella petita rosa vermella", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-04
Line count: 8
Word count: 49