The maiden's melancholy | Little droplets, are you tears

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by Lily Bernhard (flourished 1840)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Kleine Tropfen, seid ihr Tränen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Kleine Tropfen, seid ihr Tränen
An den Blumenkelchen da?
Oder war's des Herzens Sehnen,
Das die Blumen weinen sah?

Frühlingssäuseln, wehst die Klagen
In das zarte junge Grün?
Oder hör' nur ich es fragen:
Wo sind deine Freuden hin?

Gottes Augen seid ihr nimmer,
Sternlein in dem Himmelszelt!
Ach, es strahlt kein Trostesschimmer
In die freudenlose Welt!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Lily Bernhard (flourished 1840) [author's text not yet checked 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 Richard, Freiherr von Buddenbrock-Hettersdorff (1831 - 1891), "Mädchen-Schwermuth", op. 4 (Fünf Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Mädchen-Schwermut", op. posth. 142 (Vier Gesänge) no. 3 (1840), published 1858 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Meisjesmelancholie", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The maiden's melancholy", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Mélancolie de jeune fille", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 57

The maiden's melancholy

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Little droplets, are you tears
Upon the calyces of the flowers there?
Or was it the yearning of my heart
That saw the flowers weeping?

Springtime breezes, do you waft laments
Into the delicate young greenery?
Or do only I hear you ask:
Where have your joys gone?

You are not the eyes of God,
You little stars in the canopy of heaven!
Ah, no shimmer of comfort shines
Into the joyless world!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Lily Bernhard (flourished 1840)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-06-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 73