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.
Ich wollt ein Sträußlein binden, Da kam die dunkle Nacht, Kein Blümlein war zu finden, Sonst hätt' ich dir's gebracht. Da flossen von den Wangen Mir Thränen in den Klee, Ein Blümlein aufgegangen Ich nun im Garten seh. Das [wollte]1 ich dir brechen Wohl in dem dunklen Klee, Doch fing es an zu sprechen: „Ach, tue mir nicht weh! „Sei freundlich [in dem]2 Herzen, Betracht' dein eigen Leid, Und lasse mich in Schmerzen Nicht sterben vor der Zeit!“ Und hätt's nicht so gesprochen, Im Garten ganz allein, So hätt' ich dir's gebrochen, Nun aber darf's nicht sein. Mein Schatz ist ausgeblieben, Ich bin so ganz allein. Im Lieben wohnt Betrüben, Und kann nicht anders sein.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Clemens Brentano's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von Christian Brentano. Siebenter Band. Comödien, Frankfurt am Main, J. D. Sauerländer's Verlag, 1852, page 83. Appears in Ponce de Leon.
1 Strauss: "wollte"2 Reichardt, Thuille: "im"
Authorship:
- by Clemens Maria Wenzeslaus von Brentano (1778 - 1842), no title, written 1801/3, appears in Ponce de Leon, first published 1803 [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 Friedemann , "Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden", op. 1, published 1893 [ voice and piano ], Hannover, Oertel [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Leopold) Heinrich (Picot de Peccaduc), Freiherr von Herzogenberg (1843 - 1900), "Das Sträusslein", op. 41 (Sieben Lieder für 1 hohe Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1883 [ high voice and piano ], Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinz Holliger (b. 1939), "Ich wollt ein Sträußlein binden" [ soprano and harp ], from Valeria-Lieder, aus Clemens Brentanos "Ponce de Leon" 1803, no. 3, Schott Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Isenmann (1839 - 1889), "Ich wollt' ein Sträusschen binden", op. 24 (Vier Lieder im Volkston für Männerchor ) no. 2, published 1880 [ men's chorus a cappella ], Köln, P.J. Tonger [sung text not yet checked]
- by Luise Reichardt (1779 - 1826), "Für die Laute componirt" [ voice and lute ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Ich wollt ein Sträußlein binden", op. 68 (Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) no. 2 (1918/9) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 - 1907), "Ich wollt' ein Sträusslein binden", op. 24 (Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright ©
- ENG English [singable] (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "I went to pluck a nosegay"
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Je voulais faire un bouquet", copyright © 2012, (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: 24
Word count: 115
I wanted to gather a bouquet, but then came the dark night, And no flower was to be found, otherwise I would have brought it to you. Tears flowed from my cheeks onto the clover, and I saw a tiny bloom in the garden. I wanted to break it for you in the dark clover, but it began to speak: "Oh, do not hurt me! Be kindhearted, consider your own suffering, And do not let me die in pain before my time!" And had it not spoken so, all alone in the garden, I would have broken it for you, but now it must not be. My darling has departed, I am so completely alone. In loving sadness dwells, and it cannot be otherwise.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Für die Laute componirt" = "Composed for the lute"
"Ich wollt' ein Sträusschen binden" = "I wanted to gather a bouquet"
"Das Sträusslein" = "The bouquet"
"Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden" = "I wanted to gather a bouquet"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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: 
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Clemens Maria Wenzeslaus von Brentano (1778 - 1842), no title, written 1801/3, appears in Ponce de Leon, first published 1803
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-08
Line count: 24
Word count: 124