Songs
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter, bitte den Knaben
by Hugo Wolf From Spanisches Liederbuch: Weltliche Lieder (1890)
This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.
Click here to listen to this song with Anna Huntley and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter, bitte den Knaben
German source:
Paul Heyse
Bitte den Knaben,
Nicht mehr zu zielen,
Weil er mich tötet.
Mutter, o Mutter,
Die launische Liebe
Höhnt und versöhnt mich,
Flieht mich und zieht mich.
Ich sah zwei Augen
Am letzten Sonntag,
Wunder des Himmels,
Unheil der Erde.
Was man sagt, o Mutter,
Von Basilisken,
Erfuhr mein Herze,
Da ich sie sah.
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter,
Bitte den Knaben,
Nicht mehr zu zielen,
Weil er mich tötet.
Tell him, O mother, tell Cupid
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Tell Cupid
Not to aim at me any more,
For he’s killing me.
Mother, O mother,
Capricious love
Mocks and soothes me,
Shuns me and entices me.
I saw two eyes
Last Sunday,
The wonder of Heaven,
The bane of the world.
What is said, O mother,
Of basilisks,
My heart discovered
When I saw them.
Tell him, O mother,
Tell Cupid
Not to aim at me any more,
For he’s killing me.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter, bitte den Knaben
German source:
Paul Heyse
Tell him, O mother, tell Cupid
English source:
Richard Stokes
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter,
Tell him, O mother,
Bitte den Knaben,
Tell Cupid
Nicht mehr zu zielen,
Not to aim at me any more,
Weil er mich tötet.
For he’s killing me.
Mutter, o Mutter,
Mother, O mother,
Die launische Liebe
Capricious love
Höhnt und versöhnt mich,
Mocks and soothes me,
Flieht mich und zieht mich.
Shuns me and entices me.
Ich sah zwei Augen
I saw two eyes
Am letzten Sonntag,
Last Sunday,
Wunder des Himmels,
The wonder of Heaven,
Unheil der Erde.
The bane of the world.
Was man sagt, o Mutter,
What is said, O mother,
Von Basilisken,
Of basilisks,
Erfuhr mein Herze,
My heart discovered
Da ich sie sah.
When I saw them.
Bitt’ ihn, o Mutter,
Tell him, O mother,
Bitte den Knaben,
Tell Cupid
Nicht mehr zu zielen,
Not to aim at me any more,
Weil er mich tötet.
For he’s killing me.
Composer
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Filipp Jakob Wolf was born on 13 March 1860, the fourth of six surviving children, in Windischgraz, Styria, then part of the Austrian Empire. He was taught the piano and violin by his father at an early age and continued to study piano at the…
Poet
Paul Heyse
Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty…