Songs

Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm

by Arnold Schoenberg From Vier Lieder (1899) Op. 2

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Text & Translation

Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm
German source: Richard Dehmel

Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm;
jeder Morgen soll dich mahnen,
daß du mir die Haare küßtest.
Schenk mir deinen seidenen Schwamm;
jeden Abend will ich ahnen,
wem du dich im Bade rüstest,
o Maria!

Schenk mir Alles, was du hast;
meine Seele ist nicht eitel,
stolz empfang ich deinen Segen.
Schenk mir deine schwerste Last:
willst du nicht auf meinen Scheitel
auch dein Herz, dein Herz noch legen,
Magdalena?

Give me your golden comb
English translation © Richard Stokes

Give me your golden comb;
every morning shall remind you
that you kissed my hair.
Give me your silken sponge;
every evening I want to sense
for whom you prepared yourself in the bath -
oh, Maria!

Give me everything you have;
my soul is not vain,
proudly I receive your blessing.
Give me your heavy burden:
will you not lay on my head
your heart too, your heart -
Magdalena?

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

Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm
German source: Richard Dehmel

Give me your golden comb
English source: Richard Stokes

Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm;
Give me your golden comb;
jeder Morgen soll dich mahnen,
every morning shall remind you
daß du mir die Haare küßtest.
that you kissed my hair.
Schenk mir deinen seidenen Schwamm;
Give me your silken sponge;
jeden Abend will ich ahnen,
every evening I want to sense
wem du dich im Bade rüstest,
for whom you prepared yourself in the bath -
o Maria!
oh, Maria!

Schenk mir Alles, was du hast;
Give me everything you have;
meine Seele ist nicht eitel,
my soul is not vain,
stolz empfang ich deinen Segen.
proudly I receive your blessing.
Schenk mir deine schwerste Last:
Give me your heavy burden:
willst du nicht auf meinen Scheitel
will you not lay on my head
auch dein Herz, dein Herz noch legen,
your heart too, your heart -
Magdalena?
Magdalena?

Composer

Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg or Schönberg was an Austrian composer, music theorist, and painter. He was associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School.

Poet

Richard Dehmel

Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer. His poems use a range of metrical patterns, and have been set to music by composers such as Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, and Kurt Weill. His poetry often focused on themes of love and…

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