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Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
It was in the Lovely Month of May

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

It was in the lovely month of May
Just as the buds were showing
That deep within my heart I felt
A tender love was growing.

It was in the lovely month of May
When all the birds were singing
That I approached her to reveal
My feelings and my longing.

Aus meinen Tränen spriessen
The Tears I weep are Flowers

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

The tears I weep are flowers
Whose blossom never pales,
My sighs of deepest longing,
A choir of nightingales.

And if you love me, dearest,
These flowers shall be for you,
And the nightingale will sing her song
Especially for you, too.

Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne
The Rose, the Lily, the Dove and the Sun

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

The Rose, the Lily, the Dove and the Sun,
I have loved each and every one.
But the only one I now adore
Is small and gentle, without a flaw.
Of all love's joys, yes, she's the one:
The Rose, the Lily, the Dove and the Sun.

Wenn ich in deine Augen seh'
When I look into your Eyes

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

When I look into your eyes,
There's no more need for grief or sighs.
When I kiss your lips with mine,
That's when I feel really fine!

When my head lies on your breast,
All heaven's joys cannot contest.
But when you say: "I do love you."
Tears o'erwhelm me. Can it be true?

Ich will meine Seele tauchen
Would I could immerse my Soul

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

Would I could immerse my soul deep in the lily's cup,
And that its breath should resonate
When singing of my love.
That song should shock with tremors
Just like the kiss you gave,
When our lips touched so long ago
And time was sweet and brave.

Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome
Reflected in the Waters of the mighty Rhine

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

Reflected in the waters of the mighty Rhine,
Stands Cologne Cathedral, that ancient, holy shrine.
And in it hangs a painting on leather decked with gold,
Which has given me comfort when life was harsh and cold.
Flowers and angels hover about Our Lady's head,
So similar are my love's features, it could be her instead.

Ich grolle nicht, und wenn das Herz auch bricht
I'll not complain

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

I'll not complain. Not even if this loss should break
My heart forever. No, not for your sake!
However much your diamonds might reflect the light,
No glimmer illuminates your heart, for that is black as night.
I've known it long. I saw you in my dream.
I saw, within your soul, the black expanse,
The noxious snake's consuming dart,
I saw, my love, the emptiness, the poverty of your heart.

Und wüssten's die Blumen, die kleinen
And if the Flowers only knew

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

And if the flowers only knew
How deep was my distress,
They would add their tears to mine
To help me suffer less.

And were the nightingale aware
That I am sick with sorrow,
She'd cheer my spirits instantly
And not wait for the morrow.

If to the stars my pain were known,
The golden constellation
Would descend from up on high
To grant me consolation.

But the whole world cannot know
Of the pain within my heart.
She alone knows; she who tore,
Who tore my heart apart.

Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen
There's Flutes and Fiddles playing

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

There's flutes and fiddles playing
And trumpets, tan tara ta.
My dearest is dancing her wedding dance,
I can see her from afar.

Cymbals clash, and bagpipes,
And drums and a clarionet;
Amidst it all, sobbing and sighing,
Angels express their regret.

Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen
My Beloved used to sing a Song

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

My beloved used to sing a song,
Now I hear that song again
And feel as if I would explode,
Such agony is the pain.

I rush away, up through the wood,
Driven by some strange desire.
I stop and shed the flood of tears
That quench the searing fire.

Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen
A Lad loves a Lass

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

A lad loves a lass,
But she fancies another
Till she sees him leave Mass
With his bride and her mother.

So annoyed is the lass,
She takes up with some bloke
Who just happens to pass.
For the lad, it's no joke!

Oh, it's nothing new,
These things happen, you'll find.
Just that, those they happen to
Tend to go out of their mind.

Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen
On a glorious Summer's Morn

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

In my garden
On a glorious summer's morn,
I hear the flowers whisper
As I wander, all forlorn.
I hear the flowers whisper
And meet their pitying gaze;
"Don't be angry with our sister;
Poor man, these are miserable days."

Ich hab' im Traum geweinet
I wept whilst I was dreaming

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

I wept whilst I was dreaming,
Dreaming you were no more.
I woke and my tears were still streaming,
Streaming, my heart was so sore.

I wept whilst I was dreaming,
Dreaming you'd gone away.
I woke and my tears were still streaming;
How would I get through the day!

I wept whilst I was dreaming,
Dreaming you loved me still.
I woke and my tears were still streaming;
They won't stop. I doubt that they will.

Allnächtlich im Traume seh' ich dich
All night long, I see you as I dream

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

All night long, I see you as I dream,
You seem friendly, eyes meet,
And with a cry of anguish
I fall down at your feet

You look at me so sadly
And shake your golden curls,
And from the corner of your eyes
Come tears that look like pearls.

You confide in me: a secret,
A sprig of cypress sever.
I wake up, the sprig has gone
And the secret's lost for ever.

Aus alten Märchen winkt es
The old tales are so seductive

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

The old tales are so seductive
Which tell of a magical land
Where flowers that glow in the evening light,
In myriad varieties stand.
Where trees perform ancient melodies
Accompanied by the breeze and the birds,
And misty shapes rise up from the ground
To dance and sing wondrous words.

And blue sparks flash on each leaf and each twig,
Red lights flicker at random and glow,
Noisy springs burst out from marble cliffs
To mirror this strange light as they flow.

If only I could get there,
Refresh my heart and mind,
Leave all my troubles behind me,
And bliss and freedom find...

I see that land of rapture
So often in my dreams,
But when the morning sun appears
It dissolves behind its beams.

Die alten bösen Lieder
The time has come to bury the angry verse

Dichterliebe A Poet's Love

Heine

The time has come to bury
The angry verse,
The bad, nightmarish dreams;
So, bring me a coffin, bring me a hearse!

I've many things to put in it,
What they are, I'll keep under my hat;
But, you know the great barrel in Heidelberg?
Well, the coffin needs to be bigger than that.

And the hearse will have to be extended
With planks that are thick and strong.
You know the bridge spanning the river at Mainz?
Well, it needs to be equally long.

Then, fetch me a dozen giants,
Each man stronger on his own
Than the great St Christopher
In the cathedral at Cologne.

They shall bear away the coffin
And sink it in the sea.
For such a massive coffin needs
A grave as big as can be.

Now, do you know the reason
Why this coffin is so vast?
I have placed within it all my love
And have buried my pain at last.