Seigneur Dieu, sais-tu ce que tu as fait

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by Robert Franz Arnold (1872 - 1938)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Herrgott, weißt du, was du tatest (Waldemar)

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Danish (Dansk)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE ITA

Waldemar:
 Herrgott, weißt du, was du tatest,
 als klein Tove mir verstarb?
 Triebst mich aus der letzten Freistatt,
 die ich meinem Glück erwarb!
 Herr, du solltest wohl erröten:
 Bettlers einz'ges Lamm zu töten!
 Herrgott, ich bin auch ein Herrscher,
 und es ist mein Herrscherglauben:
 Meinem Untertanen darf ich nie
 die letzte Leuchte rauben.
 Falsche Wege schlägst du ein:
 Das heißt wohl Tyrann, nicht Herrscher sein!
 Herrgott, deine Engelscharen
 singen stets nur deinen Preis,
 doch dir wäre mehr vonnöten
 einer, der zu tadeln weiß.
 Und wer mag solches wagen?
 Laß mich, Herr, die Kappe deines Hofnarrn tragen!

Text Authorship:

by Robert Franz Arnold (1872 - 1938) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Danish (Dansk) by Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847 - 1885), no title, appears in Gurresange, no. 7
- 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 Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (1874 - 1951), "Herrgott, weißt du, was du tatest (Waldemar)", c1900, published 1912 [ soli, chorus, orchestra ], from Gurrelieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Linda Godry) , copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-14
Line count: 19
Word count: 96

Seigneur Dieu, sais‑tu ce que tu as fait

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Waldemar:
Seigneur Dieu, sais-tu ce que tu as fait
en faisant mourir ma petite Tove ?
Tu m'as chassé de mon dernier asile,
que j'avais conquis pour mon bonheur !
Seigneur, tu devrais bien rougir :
Tuer le seul agneau d'un mendiant !
Seigneur Dieu, je suis aussi un souverain,
et en tant que souverain, je crois
que je ne dois pas ravir à mes sujets
leur dernière lumière.
Tu t'engages dans un mauvais chemin :
et c'est celui d'un tyran, pas d'un souverain !
Seigneur Dieu la cohorte de tes anges
chante sans cesse ta gloire,
mais il te serait plus que nécessaire
que quelqu'un sache te réprimander.
Et qui pourrait oser cela ?
Seigneur, laisse-moi porter le chapeau de ton bouffon !

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2013 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Robert Franz Arnold (1872 - 1938)
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Danish (Dansk) by Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847 - 1885), no title, appears in Gurresange, no. 7
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-14
Line count: 19
Word count: 116