"O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst" is an 1829 poem by the 19th-century German writer

Ferdinand Freiligrath Ferdinand Freiligrath (17 June 1810 – 18 March 1876) was a German poet, translator and liberal agitator, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Life Freiligrath was born in Detmold, Principality of Lippe. His father was a teacher. ...

. Hungarian composer

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

set the first four

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s in 1843 as a

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

voice and piano, S. 298, and later adapted it into the third of his '' Liebesträume'' (Dreams of Love), S. 541. __TOC__

Text

O lieb', solang du lieben kannst! O lieb', solang du lieben magst! Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt, Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst! Und sorge, daß dein Herze glüht Und Liebe hegt und Liebe trägt, Solang ihm noch ein ander Herz In Liebe warm entgegenschlägt! Und wer dir seine Brust erschließt, O tu ihm, was du kannst, zulieb'! Und mach' ihm jede Stunde froh, Und mach ihm keine Stunde trüb! Und hüte deine Zunge wohl, Bald ist ein böses Wort gesagt! O Gott, es war nicht bös gemeint, – Der andre aber geht und klagt. O lieb', solang du lieben kannst! O lieb', solang du lieben magst! Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt, Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst! Dann kniest du nieder an der Gruft Und birgst die Augen, trüb und naß, – Sie sehn den andern nimmermehr – Ins lange, feuchte Kirchhofsgras. Und sprichst: O schau' auf mich herab, Der hier an deinem Grabe weint! Vergib, daß ich gekränkt dich hab'! O Gott, es war nicht bös gemeint! Er aber sieht und hört dich nicht, Kommt nicht, daß du ihn froh umfängst; Der Mund, der oft dich küßte, spricht Nie wieder: Ich vergab dir längst! Er tat's, vergab dir lange schon, Doch manche heiße Träne fiel Um dich und um dein herbes Wort – Doch still – er ruht, er ist am Ziel! O lieb', solang du lieben kannst! O lieb', solang du lieben magst! Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt, Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst! O love, as long as love you can, O love, as long as love you may, The time will come, the time will come When you will stand at the grave and mourn! Be sure that your heart burns, And holds and keeps love As long as another heart beats warmly With its love for you And if someone his soul to you Love him back as best you can Give his every hour joy, Let him pass none in sorrow! And guard your words with care, Lest harm flow from your lips! Dear God, I meant no harm, But the loved one recoils and mourns. O love, love as long as you can! O love, love as long as you may! The time will come, the time will come, When you will stand at the grave and mourn. You will kneel alongside the grave And your eyes will be sorrowful and moist, – Never will you see the beloved again – Only the churchyard's tall, wet grass. You will say: Look at me from below, I who mourn here alongside your grave! Forgive my slights! Dear God, I meant no harm! Yet the beloved does not see or hear you, He lies beyond your comfort; The lips you kissed so often speak Not again: I forgave you long ago! Indeed, he did forgive you, But tears he would freely shed, Over you and on your unthinking word – Quiet now! – he rests, he has passed. O love, love as long as you can! O love, love as long as you may! The time will come, the time will come, When you will stand at the grave and mourn.

References

External links

"O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!"
from ''Ferdinand Freiligrath's Sämmtliche Werke'', Friedrich Gerhard, New York 1858, p. 400

lieder.net * *, Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Gerold Huber (piano) {{Authority control Poetry by Ferdinand Freiligrath 1829 poems Compositions by Franz Liszt 1843 songs Lieder