Songs

Tief im Herzen trag’ ich Pein

by Hugo Wolf From Spanisches Liederbuch: Weltliche Lieder (1890)

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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

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Tief im Herzen trag’ ich Pein
German source: Emanuel Geibel

Tief im Herzen trag’ ich Pein,
Muss nach aussen stille sein.

Den geliebten Schmerz verhehle
Tief ich vor der Welt Gesicht;
Und es fühlt ihn nur die Seele,
Denn der Leib verdient ihn nicht.
Wie der Funke frei und licht
Sich verbirgt im Kieselstein,
Trag’ ich innen tief die Pein.

Deep in my heart I bear my grief
English translation © Richard Stokes

Deep in my heart I bear my grief,
Outwardly I must be calm.
 
I conceal this sweet agony
Far from the world’s gaze;
It is felt only by my soul,
For the body does not deserve it.
As sparks, free and bright,
Lie hidden in flint,
So I bear my grief deep within.

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

Tief im Herzen trag’ ich Pein
German source: Emanuel Geibel

Deep in my heart I bear my grief
English source: Richard Stokes

Tief im Herzen trag’ ich Pein,
Deep in my heart I bear my grief,
Muss nach aussen stille sein.
Outwardly I must be calm.

Den geliebten Schmerz verhehle
Tief ich vor der Welt Gesicht;
Und es fühlt ihn nur die Seele,
Denn der Leib verdient ihn nicht.
Wie der Funke frei und licht
Sich verbirgt im Kieselstein,
Trag’ ich innen tief die Pein.

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

Emanuel Geibel

Emanuel von Geibel , German poet and playwright. He was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests lay not in theology but in classical and…

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