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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

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by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Sehnsucht
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Der Lerche wolkennahe Lieder
Erschmettern zu des Winters Flucht.
Die Erde hüllt in Sammt die Glieder,
Und Blüthen bilden rothe Frucht.
Nur du, o sturmbewegte Seele,
[Bist]1 blüthenlos, in dich gekehrt,
Und wirst in goldner Frühlingshelle
Von tiefer Sehnsucht aufgezehrt.

Nie wird, was du verlangst, entkeimen
Dem Boden, Idealen fremd;
Der trotzig deinen schönsten Träumen
Die [rauhe]2 Kraft entgegen stemmt.
Du ringst dich matt mit seiner Härte,
Vom Wunsche heftiger entbrannt:
Mit Kranichen ein [strebender]3 Gefährte
Zu wandern in ein milder Land.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Johann Mayrhofer. Wien. Bey Friedrich Volke. 1824, page 100.

1 Schubert: "Nur du bist"
2 Schubert: "rohe"
3 Schubert (misprint in Alte Gesamtausgabe): "sterbender"

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Sehnsucht" [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Sehnsucht", op. 8 (Vier Lieder) no. 2, D 516 (1816?), published 1822 [ voice, piano ], Cappi und Diabelli, VN 872, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Deler", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Hunkering", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "Longing", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Désir", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 85

Désir
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Les chants de l'alouette près des nuages
Retentissent en évasion de l'hiver,
La terre couvre ses membres de velours
Et les fleurs forment des fruits rouges.

Toi seule, ô âme agitée par la tempête,
Toi seule, tu ne fleuris pas, tournée vers toi,
Et dans l'éclat doré du printemps
Tu es consumée par un désir profond.

Ce que tu réclames ne jaillira jamais
De cette terre , étrangère aux idéaux,
Qui opposée à tes plus beaux rêves
Dresse sa force brutale.

Tu t'épuises contre sa dureté,
Enflammé par un désir brûlant,
Aspirant en compagnie des grues
À voyager vers une terre plus douce.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Sehnsucht"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2012-11-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 103

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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