Songs

Es leuchtet meine Liebe (Schumann Op. 127 no.3)

by Heinrich Heine From Lyrisches Intermezzo (1823) 1822-1823

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Text & Translation

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Es leuchtet meine Liebe (Schumann Op. 127 no.3)
German source: Heinrich Heine

Es leuchtet meine Liebe,
In ihrer dunklen Pracht,
Wie’n Märchen traurig und trübe,
Erzählt in der Sommernacht.

„Im Zaubergarten wallen
Zwei Buhlen, stumm und allein;
Es singen die Nachtigallen,
Es flimmert der Mondenschein.

Die Jungfrau steht still wie ein Bildnis,
Der Ritter vor ihr kniet.
Da kommt der Riese der Wildnis,
Die bange Jungfrau flieht.

Der Ritter sinkt blutend zur Erde,
Es stolpert der Riese nach Haus -“
Wenn ich begraben werde,
Dann ist das Märchen aus.

In all her dusky splendour
English translation © Hal Draper

In all her dusky splendour
My love shines on my sight
Like a story, sad and tender,
Told on a summer night:

‘In a garden of magic, clinging
Two lovers walk mutely by;
The nightingales are singing,
The moon shimmers in the sky.

‘The maiden is standing and blushing,
The knight is on his knees.
Upon them a giant comes rushing,
The timid maiden flees.

‘The knight sinks wounded and gory,
The giant reels back to his cave – ’
There’ll be an end to this story
When I am in my grave.

Translations by Hal Draper published by Oxford University Press and Suhrkamp/Insel Verlag (1984)

Es leuchtet meine Liebe (Schumann Op. 127 no.3)
German source: Heinrich Heine

In all her dusky splendour
English source: Hal Draper

Es leuchtet meine Liebe,
In all her dusky splendour
In ihrer dunklen Pracht,
My love shines on my sight
Wie’n Märchen traurig und trübe,
Like a story, sad and tender,
Erzählt in der Sommernacht.
Told on a summer night:

„Im Zaubergarten wallen
‘In a garden of magic, clinging
Zwei Buhlen, stumm und allein;
Two lovers walk mutely by;
Es singen die Nachtigallen,
The nightingales are singing,
Es flimmert der Mondenschein.
The moon shimmers in the sky.

Die Jungfrau steht still wie ein Bildnis,
‘The maiden is standing and blushing,
Der Ritter vor ihr kniet.
The knight is on his knees.
Da kommt der Riese der Wildnis,
Upon them a giant comes rushing,
Die bange Jungfrau flieht.
The timid maiden flees.

Der Ritter sinkt blutend zur Erde,
‘The knight sinks wounded and gory,
Es stolpert der Riese nach Haus -“
The giant reels back to his cave – ’
Wenn ich begraben werde,
There’ll be an end to this story
Dann ist das Märchen aus.
When I am in my grave.

Composer

Poet

Heinrich Heine

Heine was born of Jewish parents. Much of his early life was influenced by the financial power of his uncle Salomon Heine, a millionaire Hamburg banker, with whom he remained on an awkward footing for many years. After he had been educated in the…

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