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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Translation © by Christakis Poumbouris
Meine Ruh' ist hin
Language: German (Deutsch)
Meine Ruh' ist hin, Mein Herz ist schwer; Ich finde sie nimmer Und nimmermehr. Wo ich ihn nicht hab' Ist mir das Grab, Die ganze Welt Ist mir vergällt. Mein armer Kopf Ist mir verrückt, Mein armer Sinn Ist mir zerstückt. Meine Ruh' ist hin, Mein Herz ist [schwer; Ich finde sie nimmer Und nimmermehr.]1 Nach ihm nur [schau']2 ich Zum Fenster hinaus, Nach ihm nur geh' ich Aus dem Haus. Sein hoher Gang, [Sein']3 edle Gestalt, Seines Mundes Lächeln, Seiner Augen Gewalt, Und seiner Rede Zauberfluß, Sein Händedruck, Und ach sein Kuß! Meine Ruh' ist hin, Mein Herz ist schwer, Ich finde sie nimmer Und nimmermehr. Mein Busen drängt Sich nach ihm hin. [Ach]4 dürft ich fassen Und halten ihn! Und [küssen ihn So wie]5 ich wollt', An seinen Küssen Vergehen sollt'!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Zwölfter Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1828, pages 177-178; with Faust. Eine Tragödie von Goethe, Tübingen, in der J.G.Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1808, pages 223-225; and with Faust. Ein Fragment. in Goethe's Schriften. Siebenter Band. Leipzig, bey Georg Joachim Göschen, 1790, pages 133-135. Above the poem it is indicated "Gretchens Stube. Gretchen am Spinnrade allein."
Note: Goethe did not split the final eight lines into two stanzas prior to 1828.
1 Lenz: "schwer."2 Lenz: "seh'"
3 Lenz: "Seine"
4 Zelter: "Als"
5 Lenz: "küssen/ Wie"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I), first published 1790 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Max Joseph Beer (1851 - 1908), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", op. 2, published 1872 [ voice and piano ], Wien u. Tr., Buchholz & D. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Aloys Theodor Commer (1813 - 1887), "Aus Faust", op. 19 (Vier Gesänge für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Piano-Forte) no. 3, published 1841 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Bote und Bock [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Karl) Friedrich Curschmann (1805 - 1841), "Meine Ruh ist hin", op. 11 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 5, published 1835 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Schlesinger [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Fritze (1842 - 1881), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", op. 17 no. 2, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder und Gesänge aus Goethe's 'Faust', no. 2, Breslau, Hientzsch [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gustav Heinrich Graben-Hoffmann (1820 - 1900), "Meine Ruh ist hin", op. 65, published 1863 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Schuberth und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann von Haszlinger , "Lied Gretchens", op. 5 (Sechs Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Ludwig Friedrich Hetsch (1806 - 1872), "Meine Ruh ist hin! aus der Tragödie: Faust von Göthe", published 1838 [ voice and piano ], Bonn, Simrock [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustav Jansen [not F. G. Jansen] , "Gretchen am Spinnrade aus Göthe's Faust", published 1866 [ bass and piano ], Berlin, Mendel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Christoph Kienlen (1783 - 1829), "Lied von Gretchen", published 1819? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernhard (Joseph) Klein (1793 - 1832), "Meine Ruh' ist hin", published c1820 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Gretchens Klage", 1820 [ voice and piano ], from Gesänge aus Goethe's Faust, no. 16, an edition from 1836 is mentioned by Hofmeister, published Wien, Trentsensky [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Fredric Joseph Kroll (b. 1945), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", 1965 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Fredric Joseph Kroll (b. 1945), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", 1965-6, first performed 1982 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus der Einsamkeit, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Justus Amadeus Lecerf (1789 - 1868), "Gretchen am Spinnrad", published 1835? [ voice and piano ], from Neun Gesänge zu Goethe's Faust, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leopold Lenz (1803 - 1862), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", op. 14, Heft 1 (Gesänge Gretchens) no. 2, published 1833 [ voice and piano ], from Gesänge und Lieder aus der Tragödie Faust von Goethe, no. 2, Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Leopold Lenz (1803 - 1862), "Meine Ruh ist hin", op. 13 (Zwei Gesänge) no. 1 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Meine Ruh ist hin", op. 9, Heft 3 no. 2 (1822) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Adolf Lorenz, Dr. (1837 - 1923), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", op. 6, published 1865 [ soprano and piano ], Berlin, Simmel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Theodor Moritz (1772 - 1834), "Margarete", op. 5 (Dreizehn Lieder und Gesaenge mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 5 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Antoni Henryk Radziwill, Fürst (1775 - 1833), "Gretchen", published 1835, from Compositionen zu Göthe's Faust, no. 18, Berlin: Zum ausschliesslichen Debit in Commission bei T. Trautwein, Buch-und Musikhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Gretchen am Spinnrade", op. 2, D 118 (1814), published 1821, first performed 1823, Cappi und Diabelli [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl, Freiherr von Seckendorff (flourished c1819), "Gretchens Klage", published [1819] [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Lieder mit Begleitung des Pianoforte in Musik gesetzt und seiner Schwester gewidmet von Carl von Seckendorff, no. 12, Leipzig: Bey Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis [Ludwig] Spohr (1784 - 1859), "Gretchen", op. 25 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 3 (1809) [sung text checked 2 times]
- by Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883), "Meine Ruh ist hin (Gretchen am Spinnrade)", op. 5 no. 6, WWV 15 no. 6 (1831-2), from Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Margarethe" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by C. F. Zietzschmann , "Meine Ruh' ist hin ", op. 32 (Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Barth [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ralph Shapey.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in French (Français), adapted by Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869) [an adaptation] and by Almire Gandonnière (b. 1814) [an adaptation] ; composed by Hector Berlioz.
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Luigi Balestra (1808 - 1863) ; composed by Giuseppe Verdi.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Eduard Ivanovich Guber (1814 - 1847) ; composed by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Otokar Fischer) , "Můj klid ten tam"
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Greetje aan het spinnewiel", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Geart van der Meer) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Lynn Thompson) , "My peace is gone", copyright © 1997, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Fredric Kroll) , "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Will Crutchfield) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Gérard Labrunie) , appears in Le Faust de Goethe [an adaptation]
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRI Frisian (Geart van der Meer) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Το Ριτάκι στο ροδάνι", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La mia pace è perduta", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Gretchen ved rokken", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "Margarita en la Rueca"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 40
Word count: 133
To Ritáki sto rodáni
Language: Greek (Ελληνικά) after the German (Deutsch)
Īremía moy, Poý na se vrō, Kardiá moy varaíneis Apó kairó. San moý leípei aytós, Se táfo zō, Kai ólī ī gī Pikrī́ cholī́. To logikó Moy táraxe, Ftōchó myaló Kommátiase. Īremía moy, Poý na se vrō, Kardiá moy varaíneis Apó kairó. Ap’ to mpalkóni Koitṓ mīn ton dō, Den feýgō mónī Dícha aytón. Tí kínīsī, Morfī́ eygenī́s, To chamógelo toy Tōn matiṓn dýnamī. Pṓs moý milá (ma-) (Ma)geytiká, San me kratá, Pṓs me filá! Īremía moy, Poý na se vrō, Kardiá moy varaíneis Apó kairó. Sta stī́thia asfikti(ṓ) -ṓ gi’ aytón. Pṓs ton aggízō Kai ton kratṓ, Me fílīma Ōs to pothṓ, Kai sta filiá toy, Ach na chathṓ!
Show a transliteration: DIN | ISO 843
Note on TransliterationsShow untransliterated (original) text
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to Greek (Ελληνικά) copyright © 2013 by Christakis Poumbouris, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Christakis Poumbouris. Contact: chrispou (AT) spidernet (DOT) com (DOT) cy
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I), first published 1790
This text was added to the website: 2013-07-11
Line count: 40
Word count: 110