English

Es glänzt so schon die sinkende Sonne

The sun is fair when it sinks in splendor,
Yet fairer still are your eyes that shine —
Your beaming eyes and this splendid sunset
Illumine and trouble this heart of mine.

For the sunset means an end and a parting;
Night for the heart, and an endless woe.
And soon, between your eyes and my heart, love,
The wide and darkening sea shall flow.

Mir redet ein die Eitelkeit

Your love for me (so says my pride)
Is of a godlike fashion;
But deeper wisdom tells me that
It's only your compassion.

You give me more than is my due
When others underrate me;
And you are doubly sweet and kind
Because they wound and hate me.

You are so fond, you are so fair,
Your goodness overpowers!
Your speech is music, and your words

Augen, die ich längst vergessen

Eyes that I had long forgotten
Snare me with their old romances;
And once more I am held captive
By a maiden's tender glances.

Now her kisses bear me backward
To the time we lived so sweetly,
When the days were spent in folly
And the nights in love completely.

Ich liebe solche weisse Glieder

I love this white and slender body,
These limbs that answer Love's caresses,
Passionate eyes, and forehead covered
With heavy waves of thick, black tresses.

You are the very one I've searched for
In many lands, in every weather.
You are my sort; you understand me;
As equals we can talk together.

In me you've found the man you care for.

Du liegst mir so gern im Arme

You lie in my arms so gladly,
The cries of the world seem far.
I am your own dear Heaven,
You are my dearest star.

Below us the foolish people
Quibble and quarrel and fight;
They shriek and bellow and argue —
And all of them are right.

With jingling bells on their fool's caps,
They rise from their stupid beds;
Swinging their clubs in anger,

Ein schoner Stern geht auf in meiner Nacht

A lovely star has risen in my night,
A star of smiling comfort and delight,
A golden promise to the eye —
O, do not lie!

As the young moon draws up the swelling sea,
My soul is drawn to you, and wild and free
It bursts into a passionate cry —
" O, do not lie! "

Schon mit ihren schlimmsten Schatten

Now with shadows, dull and dreary,
Evil night is creeping on;
Now our souls are worn and weary,
Weary-eyed we sit and yawn.

You grow old and I grow older,
And our Spring has lost its grace.
You grow cold and I grow colder
As the Winter comes apace.

Ah, the end is sad; the tearless
Sighs when Love begins to pall.
So, when Life grows cold and cheerless

Emma, sage mir die Wahrheit

Emma, tell me, tell me truly:
Was it Love that made me foolish?
Or is Love itself the simple
Consequence of all my folly?

Oh, I'm troubled, darling Emma,
Troubled by my foolish passion,
Troubled by my passionate folly —
Most of all, by this dilemma.

I

Er steht so starr wie ein Baumstamm

He stands as stark as a tree-trunk
In wind and frost and heat;
His arms reach up to the heavens,
Into the ground, his feet.

Thus suffers and stands Bagaritha,
But Brahma will end his woe;
Down from the heights of heaven
He lets the Ganges flow.

But I, beloved, must suffer
Worse torments and in vain. . . .

Jugend, die mir täglich schwindet

Youth is leaving me; but daily
By new courage it's replaced;
And my bold arm circles gaily
Many a young and slender waist.

Some were shocked and others pouted;
Some grew wroth — but none denied.
Flattery has always routed
Lovely shame and stubborn pride.

Yet the best is gone. Too late, I'd
Give my soul for it, in truth.