Songs

Komm, Liebchen, komm

by Hugo Wolf From Goethe-Lieder (1891)

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Text & Translation

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Komm, Liebchen, komm
German source: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

HATEM
Komm, Liebchen, komm! Umwinde mir die Mütze!
Aus deiner Hand nur ist der Tulbend schön.
Hat Abbas doch, auf Irans höchstem Sitze,
Sein Haupt nicht zierlicher umwinden sehn!

Ein Tulbend war das Band, das Alexandern
In Schleifen schön vom Haupte fiel
Und allen Folgeherrschern, jenen andern,
Als Königzierde wohlgefiel.

Tulbend ist's, der unsern Kaiser schmücket,
Sie nennen's Krone. Name geht wohl hin!
Juwel und Perle! sei das Aug entzücket!
Der schönste Schmuck ist stets der Musselin.

Und diesen hier, ganz rein und silberstreifig,
Umwinde, Liebchen, um die Stirn umher.
Was ist denn Hoheit? Mir ist sie geläufig!
Du schaust mich an, ich bin so groß als Er.

Come, my love, come!
English translation © Richard Stokes

Come, my love, come! Wind my head-dress on!

Only when wound by you is the turban beautiful.
Even Abbas, on Iran’s loftiest throne,
Did not see his head more gracefully bound!

It was a turban that cascaded
In fine folds from Alexander’s head,
And with all rulers that succeeded him
Found favour as a royal embellishment.

It is a turban that adorns our emperor,
A crown they call it. What’s in a name?
Jewels and pearls! Let the eyes be delighted:
The most beautiful ornament remains muslin.


So wind this muslin here, so pure and silver-threaded,
Wind it, my love, about my brow.
What, then, is majesty? A familiar thing to me!
You gaze at me, I am as great as He.

Komm, Liebchen, komm
German source: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Come, my love, come!
English source: Richard Stokes

HATEM
Come, my love, come! Wind my head-dress on!
Komm, Liebchen, komm! Umwinde mir die Mütze!
Aus deiner Hand nur ist der Tulbend schön.
Hat Abbas doch, auf Irans höchstem Sitze,
Sein Haupt nicht zierlicher umwinden sehn!

Ein Tulbend war das Band, das Alexandern
Only when wound by you is the turban beautiful.
In Schleifen schön vom Haupte fiel
Even Abbas, on Iran’s loftiest throne,
Und allen Folgeherrschern, jenen andern,
Did not see his head more gracefully bound!
Als Königzierde wohlgefiel.

Tulbend ist's, der unsern Kaiser schmücket,
It was a turban that cascaded
Sie nennen's Krone. Name geht wohl hin!
In fine folds from Alexander’s head,
Juwel und Perle! sei das Aug entzücket!
And with all rulers that succeeded him
Der schönste Schmuck ist stets der Musselin.
Found favour as a royal embellishment.

Und diesen hier, ganz rein und silberstreifig,
It is a turban that adorns our emperor,
Umwinde, Liebchen, um die Stirn umher.
A crown they call it. What’s in a name?
Was ist denn Hoheit? Mir ist sie geläufig!
Jewels and pearls! Let the eyes be delighted:
Du schaust mich an, ich bin so groß als Er.
The most beautiful ornament remains muslin.

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…

Performances

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