Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin,
Und es denkt mein Herz an ihn.
 
Nelken all', ihr flammenroten,
Die der Morgen mir beschert,
Zu ihm send' ich euch als Boten
Jener Glut, die mich verzehrt;
Und ihr weißen Blüten wert,
Sanft mit Düften grüßet ihn,
Sagt ihm, daß ich bleich vor Sehnen,
Daß ich auf ihn harr' in Tränen --
[Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin.]1
 
Tausend Blumen, tauumflossen,
Find' ich neu im Tal erwacht;
[Alle sind]1 erst heut' entsprossen;
Aber hin ist ihre Pracht,
Wenn der nächste Morgen lacht.
Sprich, du duftiger Jasmin,
Sprecht, ihr flammenroten Nelken,
Kann so schnell auch Liebe welken?
Ach, es denkt mein Herz an ihn!3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹Schumann here repeats the second line of the poem, "Und es denkt mein Herz an ihn."
² Gade: "sind alle"
³Schumann here inserts a repetition the first two lines.

Authorship

• by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), no title, appears in Spanisches Liederbuch, in 2. Weltliche Lieder, no. 31 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on

• a text in Spanish (Español) by Don Manuel del Río , "Cojo jazmín y clavel"
  • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Leopold Damrosch (1832 - 1885), "Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin", op. 11 no. 5, published 1903? [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Frommer , "Spanisches Lied", op. 22 (Zwei Lieder für hohe Stimme) no. 1, published 1893 [ high voice and piano ], Leipzig, Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
• by Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817 - 1890), "Spanisches Lied", op. 9 no. 7, published 1845 [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with piano ], from Lieder im Volkston [first published as Neun Lieder im Volkston], no. 7, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel, also set in English, also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Wilhelm Herzberg (1819 - 1847), "Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin", op. 6 (Sechs Lieder für Alt oder Mezzo-Sopran) no. 6, published 1846 [ alto or mezzo-soprano and piano ], Berlin, Guttentag [sung text not yet checked]
• by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "Nelken wind' ich", op. 4 (Sieben Gesänge aus dem spanischen Liederbuche von E. Geibel und P. Heise [sic]) no. 3, published 1860 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Fr. Schuberth [sung text not yet checked]
• by Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795 - 1866), "Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin", op. 22 (Spanische Lieder), Heft 1 no. 4, published 1847 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Friedrich August Naubert (1839 - 1897), "Nelken wind' ich und Jasmin", op. 4 (Spanische Liebeslieder aus dem Liederbuche v. Em. Geibel u. P. Heise) no. 10, published 1876 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Eulenburg [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Botschaft", op. 74 no. 8 (1849), published 1849 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ], from Spanisches Liederspiel, no. 8, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Boodschap", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Message", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Auditorium du Louvre , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2016-05-05 17:01:43
Line count: 20
Word count: 107

I wind a wreath of carnations and jasmine,
And my heart thinks of him.

Carnations all, you flame-red ones,
Which the morning has given to me,
I send you to him as messengers
Of that fervour that consumes me;
And you white, precious blossoms,
Greet him gently with your scents,
Tell him that I am pale with longing,
That I wait for him in tears --
I wind a wreath of carnations and jasmine.

A thousand flowers, engulfed in dew,
I find newly awakened in the valley;
All of them have only blossomed today;
But their splendour is gone
When the next morning smiles.
Tell me, you scented jasmine,
Speak, you flame-red carnations,
Can love wither so quickly?
Ah, my heart thinks of him.