Sie liebten sich beide
German source:
Heinrich Heine
Wollt’ es dem andern gestehn;
Sie sahen sich an so feindlich,
Und wollten vor Liebe vergehn.
Sie trennten sich endlich und sah’n sich
Nur noch zuweilen im Traum;
Sie waren längst gestorben
Und wussten es selber kaum
They Loved One Another
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Wished to tell the other;
They gave each other such hostile looks,
Yet nearly died of love
In the end they parted and saw
Each other but rarely in dreams.
They died so long ago
And hardly knew it themselves.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Sie liebten sich beide
German source:
Heinrich Heine
They Loved One Another
English source:
Richard Stokes
Sie liebten sich beide, doch keiner
They loved one another, but neither
Wollt’ es dem andern gestehn;
Wished to tell the other;
Sie sahen sich an so feindlich,
They gave each other such hostile looks,
Und wollten vor Liebe vergehn.
Yet nearly died of love
Sie trennten sich endlich und sah’n sich
In the end they parted and saw
Nur noch zuweilen im Traum;
Each other but rarely in dreams.
Sie waren längst gestorben
They died so long ago
Und wussten es selber kaum
And hardly knew it themselves.
Composer
Carl Loewe
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (G30 November 1796 – 20 April 1869),was a German composer, tenor singer and conductor. He wrote over 400 ballads and songs. Information from Wikipedia. Read more here.
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…