Quiet praise of God | Ah, had I the tongues of angels

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by Luise Aloysia Maria Hensel (1798 - 1876)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ach, hätt' ich Engelzungen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ach, hätt' ich Engelzungen,
Ich hätt' euch wohl gesungen
Das süße, liebe Lied,
Das mir so still und selig
Im jungen Herzen glüht.

Ich weiß ja keine Weisen,
Den Herren so zu preisen,
Den Vater, treu und mild,
Wie meine ganze Seele
Ihm singt und jauchzt und spielt.

Ich muß mein Haupt Ihm neigen,
Kann weinen nur und schweigen
In Seligkeit und Schmerz;
Ach Kind, Er weiß dein Lieben,
Er sieht dir ja in's Herz.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Lieder von Luise M. Hensel, herausgegeben von Prof. Dr. C. Schlüter, Paderborn: Verlag von Ferdinand Schönigh, 1869, page 1.

Text Authorship:

by Luise Aloysia Maria Hensel (1798 - 1876), "Stilles Gotteslob", written 1814 [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 Ludwig Hoffmann (1830 - 1870), "Lob Gottes", op. 25 (Sechs geistliche Lieder für gemischten Chor) no. 5, published 1881 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], Berlin, Bahn [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Quiet praise of God", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2013-09-01
Line count: 15
Word count: 75

Quiet praise of God

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Ah, had I the tongues of angels,
I would have sung well for you
The sweet, dear song
That, quietly and blissfully,
Glows in my young heart.

But I know no melodies
With which to praise the Lord,
The Father, faithful and gentle,
In the way that my entire soul
Sings, rejoices and plays at the thought of Him.

I must bow my head before Him,
I can only weep and fall silent
In bliss and pain;
Ah, child, He knows your loving,
For he can see into your heart.

Title used by Hoffmann: "Praise of God"

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 Luise Aloysia Maria Hensel (1798 - 1876), "Stilles Gotteslob", written 1814
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-09-01
Line count: 15
Word count: 90