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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.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Echte Liebe
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Lau in der Liebe mag ich nimmer sein, --
Kalt oder brennend wie ein lohes Feuer!
O, Lust und Leiden sind nur farblos, klein,
Wo Liebe nicht ergriffen hat das Steuer!

Wer noch bei Sinnen, ist kein rechter Freier;
Wirf von dir ohne Zagen all was dein,
Der stirbt vor Liebe nicht, ein halbgetreuer,
Wer von der Liebe mehr verlangt, als Pein.

Gleichwie ein Schiff, wenn sich die Wetter schwärzen,
An jähen Klippen treibt bei finstrer Nacht,
Auf weitem Meer der Wind' und Wogen Spiel,

So auf dem wüsten Meere meiner Schmerzen
Such' ich, auf neue Leiden nur bedacht,
Im Hoffnungslosen meines Glückes Ziel.

Confirmed with Joseph von Eichendorff, Sämtliche Gedichte in einem Band und Versepen, Frankfurt am Main & Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 2001, page 601


Text Authorship:

  • by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Echte Liebe" [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 Winfried (Petrus Ignatius) Zillig (1905 - 1963), "Echte Liebe", op. 33 no. 3 (1945), orchestrated 1951 [soprano and orchestra], from Sieben Sonette nach Gedichten von Joseph von Eichendorff, no. 3. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , title 1: "Genuine love", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-09-09
Line count: 14
Word count: 103

Genuine love
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Lukewarm in love I never wish to be, --
Cold or burning like a blazing fire!
Oh, joy and sorrow are only colourless, small,
Where love has not taken over the helm!

He who is still in command of his senses, is not truly a suitor;
Throw off from yourself without hesitation all that is yours;
He does not die of love, the half-faithful one,
Who asks more of love than suffering.

Just as a ship, when the weather darkens,
Drifts past precipitous crags in darkest night,
The plaything of wind and waves upon the wide ocean,

Thus on the desolate ocean of my pain
I search, only thinking of new suffering,
In hopelessness for the goal of my happiness.

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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Echte Liebe"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2013-07-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 119

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