Songs

Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte

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

Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte
German source: Paul Heyse

Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte,
An ihrer Stelle schäum’ ein See zur Stunde.
Bleikugeln soll der Himmel drüber schütten,
Und eine Schlange hause dort im Grunde.
Drin hause eine Schlange gift’ger Art,
Die ihn vergifte, der mir untreu ward.
Drin hause eine Schlange, giftgeschwollen,
Und bring’ ihm Tod, der mich verraten wollen!

May a chasm engulf my lover's cottage
English translation © Richard Stokes

May a chasm engulf my lover’s cottage,
Let a foaming lake appear promptly in its place,
Let heaven rain leaden bullets on it,
And a serpent dwell in its foundations.
Let a poisonous serpent dwell there
And poison him who was unfaithful to me.
Let a snake dwell there bloated with poison
And bring death to him who tried to betray me!

Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte
German source: Paul Heyse

May a chasm engulf my lover's cottage
English source: Richard Stokes

Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte,
May a chasm engulf my lover’s cottage,
An ihrer Stelle schäum’ ein See zur Stunde.
Let a foaming lake appear promptly in its place,
Bleikugeln soll der Himmel drüber schütten,
Let heaven rain leaden bullets on it,
Und eine Schlange hause dort im Grunde.
And a serpent dwell in its foundations.
Drin hause eine Schlange gift’ger Art,
Let a poisonous serpent dwell there
Die ihn vergifte, der mir untreu ward.
And poison him who was unfaithful to me.
Drin hause eine Schlange, giftgeschwollen,
Let a snake dwell there bloated with poison
Und bring’ ihm Tod, der mich verraten wollen!
And bring death to him who tried to betray me!

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…

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