by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation Singable translation by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937)
Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: FRE
Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben, Und ich geb' mir selber Mühe, Daß dein liebes Herz [in Liebe]1 Nimmermehr [für mich]2 erglühe. Nur daß mir's so leicht gelinget, [Will]3 mich dennoch fast betrüben, Und ich denke [manchmal dennoch]4: Möchtest du mich dennoch lieben!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 White: "für mich"
2 White: "in Lieb"
3 White: "will's"
4 White: "dennoch manchmal"
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 48 [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 Boleslav Viktorovich Grodzky (1865 - 1923), "Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben", op. 12 no. 1, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Isador) George Henschel (1850 - 1934), "Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben", op. 37 (Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 4, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Hamburg, Rahter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Korstiaan Stougie (1908 - 1988), "Kind", op. 1 (124 liederen : 1925-1969) no. 68 (1936), published 1972 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 48 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Kind! Es wäre dein Verderben", published 1888? [ voice and piano ], from New Albums of Songs with German and English Words, Volume 1, no. 5, London: Pitt & Hatzfeld, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937) , "Child it were thine utter ruin" ; composed by Maude Valérie White.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation (after Heine ) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Boleslav Viktorovich Grodzky.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Charles Godfrey Leland) , no title, appears in The works of Heinrich Heine, Volume II, London: William Heinemann, page 35, first published 1891
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Aleksander Kraushar) , "Dziecko!", Warsaw, first published 1880
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-24
Line count: 8
Word count: 46
Child, it were thine utter ruin
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Child! it were thine utter ruin And I do my best to stay thee From bestowing thy devotion, And thine own sweet self on me. Just because it were so easy To succeed, it almost grieves me, Yet how oft the thought recurreth Oh, to be belov'd of thee!
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Child it were thine utter ruin" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 48
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Child, it were thine utter ruin", published 1888? [ voice and piano ], from New Albums of Songs with German and English Words, Volume 1, no. 5, London: Pitt & Hatzfeld, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2013-09-24
Line count: 8
Word count: 49