Songs

Lass sie nur gehn, die so die Stolze spielt

by Hugo Wolf From Italienisches Liederbuch

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This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.
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Text & Translation

View IPA

Lass sie nur gehn, die so die Stolze spielt
German source: Paul Heyse

Lass sie nur gehn, die so die Stolze spielt,
Das Wunderkräutlein aus dem Blumenfeld.
Man sieht, wohin ihr blankes Auge zielt,
Da Tag um Tag ein andrer ihr gefällt.
Sie treibt es grade wie Toscanas Fluss,
Dem jedes Berggewässer folgen muss.
Sie treibt es wie der Arno, will mir scheinen:
Bald hat sie viel Bewerber, bald nicht einen.

Let her go, then, if she acts so proud
English translation © Richard Stokes

Let her go, then, if she acts so proud,
The magic herb in a field of flowers.
You can see what her bright eyes are after,
For day after day she fancies a different man.
She carries on just like Tuscany’s river
Which every mountain stream must follow.
She carries on just like the Arno, it seems to me:
Now wooed by many, now by none.

Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

Lass sie nur gehn, die so die Stolze spielt
German source: Paul Heyse

Let her go, then, if she acts so proud
English source: Richard Stokes

Lass sie nur gehn, die so die Stolze spielt,
Let her go, then, if she acts so proud,
Das Wunderkräutlein aus dem Blumenfeld.
The magic herb in a field of flowers.
Man sieht, wohin ihr blankes Auge zielt,
You can see what her bright eyes are after,
Da Tag um Tag ein andrer ihr gefällt.
For day after day she fancies a different man.
Sie treibt es grade wie Toscanas Fluss,
She carries on just like Tuscany’s river
Dem jedes Berggewässer folgen muss.
Which every mountain stream must follow.
Sie treibt es wie der Arno, will mir scheinen:
She carries on just like the Arno, it seems to me:
Bald hat sie viel Bewerber, bald nicht einen.
Now wooed by many, now by none.

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…

Performances

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