Hätt ich irgend wohl Bedenken
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Hätt ich irgend wohl Bedenken,
Balch, Bochâra, Samarkand,
Süßes Liebchen, dir zu schenken
Dieser Städte Rausch und Tand?
Aber frag einmal den Kaiser,
Ob er dir die Städte gibt?
Er ist herrlicher und weiser;
Doch er weiß nicht, wie man liebt.
Herrscher, zu dergleichen Gaben
Nimmermehr bestimmst du dich!
Solch ein Mädchen muß man haben
Und ein Bettler sein wie ich.
Could I ever hesitate
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Could I ever hesitate to offer you
Balkh, Bokhara, Samarkand,
O my sweetest love,
With all their gaudy heady delights?
But try asking the emperor
Whether he would give you these cities?
He may be grander and wiser;
But he does not know what Love is.
Sovereign, you will never resolve
To give such gifts!
Better by far to have such a girl
And be a beggar like me.
Hätt ich irgend wohl Bedenken
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Could I ever hesitate
English source:
Richard Stokes
HATEM
HATEM
Hätt ich irgend wohl Bedenken,
Could I ever hesitate to offer you
Balch, Bochâra, Samarkand,
Balkh, Bokhara, Samarkand,
Süßes Liebchen, dir zu schenken
O my sweetest love,
Dieser Städte Rausch und Tand?
With all their gaudy heady delights?
Aber frag einmal den Kaiser,
But try asking the emperor
Ob er dir die Städte gibt?
Whether he would give you these cities?
Er ist herrlicher und weiser;
He may be grander and wiser;
Doch er weiß nicht, wie man liebt.
But he does not know what Love is.
Herrscher, zu dergleichen Gaben
Sovereign, you will never resolve
Nimmermehr bestimmst du dich!
To give such gifts!
Solch ein Mädchen muß man haben
Better by far to have such a girl
Und ein Bettler sein wie ich.
And be a beggar like 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
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on…