"Ach, wie ist's möglich dann" also known as "Treue Liebe" (True/Loyal Love), is a German now-traditional song. Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken (1810–1882), a German composer and conductor, claimed to have composed the tune, and that it was later modified "probably by Silcher" ("wahrscheinlich von Silcher her") and given the general name ''Thüringer

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also ...

'' ("Thuringian folksong"). Its popularity helped Kücken get chosen for the court of

Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Paul Friedrich (15 September 1800 – 7 March 1842) ruled as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1837 to 1842. Biography He was born in Ludwigslust the son of Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duc ...

. The tune is used at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Lincoln University (Missouri) Lincoln University (Lincoln U) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Jefferson City, Missouri. Founded in 1866 by African-American veterans of the American Civil War, it is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fun ...

("Lincoln, O, Lincoln") and

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

sang the song and it has been used in some movies, e.g. '' Three Comrades'' uses the melody throughout the film as

Leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

for love. Similarly,

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer (; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls (; ), was a German-French film director who worked in Germany (1931–1933), France (1933–1940 and 1950–1957), and the United States (1947–1950). He made near ...

used it in the same year as a leitmotiv in '' Le Roman de Werther''. The silent film ''Ach, wie ist's möglich dann'' (1913) by Peter Ostermayr bears the song's title.

Melody

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Text

The lyrics are generally credited to

Helmina von Chézy Helmina von Chézy (26 January 178328 January 1856), née Wilhelmine Christiane von Klencke, was a German journalist, poet and playwright. She is known for writing the libretto for Carl Maria von Weber's opera ''Euryanthe'' (1823) and the play ' ...

. Ach, wie ist's möglich dann, dass ich dich lassen kann, hab' dich von Herzen lieb, das glaube mir! Du hast das Herze mein so ganz genommen ein, dass ich kein and're lieb' als dich allein. Blau ist ein Blümelein, das heißt Vergißnichtmein; dies Blümlein leg ans Herz und denk an mich! Stirbt Blüm' und Hoffnung gleich, wir sind an Liebe reich, denn die stirbt nie bei mir, das glaube mir! Wär ich ein Vögelein, wollt ich bald bei dir sein, scheut Falk und Habicht nicht, flög schnell zu dir; schöss mich ein Jäger tot, fiel ich in deinen Schoß; sähst du mich traurig an, gern stürb ich dann. Oh, how is it possible that I can leave you! I love you from my heart, believe that of me! You have my soul taken so completely, that I love no one else but you alone. Blue is a little flower, that is called

forget-me-not ''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots ...

; lay this bloom upon your heart and think of me! Were flower and hope to die, we would still be rich in love, because it would never die in me, believe that of me. If I were a little bird, I would soon be with you, not afraid of falcon or hawk, I would fly quickly to you; if a hunter should shoot me dead, I would fall onto your lap; if you would behold me sadly, I would gladly die.

References

External links

*
"Ach wie ist's moeglich dann"
lieder-archiv.de, including sheet music with lyrics * ,

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

, members of the

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, conducting {{Authority control Volkslied 19th-century songs