Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten

Ich weiß nicht, was [soll es]1 bedeuten
Daß ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
Im Abendsonnenschein.

Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.

Sie kämmt es mit [goldenem]2 Kamme
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame
Gewaltige Melodei.

Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
ergreift es mit wildem Weh,
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.

Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
Die Lorelei getan.

View text without footnotes
¹ Liszt: "soll's"
² Liszt: "gold'nem"

Authorship

by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) , no title, from Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 2

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Konstantin Julius Becker (1811-1859) , "Lorelei", op. 19.
by Jakob Blied (1844-1884) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", from Lieder, no. 1
by Ingeborg (Starck) Bronsart von Schellendorf (1840-1913) , "Die Loreley", published 1865.
by Christian Bruhn (1934-) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten" [voice and orchestra], from Heine-Lieder, no. 10.
by Carl Debrois van Bruyck (1828-1902) , "Die Loreley", op. 15 (Drei Gesänge) no. 2. [mezzo-soprano and piano]
by Jeannette Antonie Bürde (1799-?) , "Die Loreley", op. 7 (Drei Gesänge) no. 3, published c1850. [soprano or tenor and piano]
by G. Burwig , "Loreley" [singer, speaker, and piano], note: indicates "parodistisch-musikalisch glossirt"
by John Driscoll (1977-) , "Die Lorelei"
by Louis Ehlert (1825-1884) , "Die Loreley von Heinrich Heine", op. 6.
by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850-1900) , "Loreley", op. 7 (Vier Balladen (Čtyři balady)) no. 3, H. 181 no. 3 (1872), published 1896. [medium voice and piano]
by Edmund von Freyhold (1878-1944) , "Loreley", 1906 [voice and piano], from Gesungene Gedichte mit Klavierbegleitung: Sechs Lieder, no. 2.
by Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890) , "Die Loreley", from Lieder und Gesänge (Volksausgabe, Heft 7, no. 3
by Ferdinand Gleich (1816-1898) , "Die Loreley", from Drei Romanzen, no. 3.
by Ulf A. Grahn , "Die Lorelei", published 1985, first performed 1986 [alto, violin, violoncello, piano], from Three German Folksongs, no. 2.
by J. Grill , "Die Loreley", published 1840, from Vier Romanzen, no. 4.
by Christian Friedrich Grimmer (1798-1850) , "Loreley", from Lieder, no. 18.
by Gustav Adolf Heinze (1820-1904) , "Die Loreley", op. 25 (Vier Lieder) no. 4. [high or medium voice and piano]
by Richard Heinze (1845-1893) , "Durch die Zeitung oder Das Rendezvous : Komisches Duett", op. 112. [soprano, tenor, and piano]
by Peter Janssens (1934-) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten: aus Die Heimkehr", published 1976, from Heinrich Heine Song Buch, no. 9.
by Moritz Kässmayer (1831-1884) , "Licht und Schatten: Potpourri", op. 19, published 1871.
by Al. Kern , "Loreley", op. 4 (Drei Gedichte) no. 1.
by Hermann Kestner (1810-1890) , "Loreley"
by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927-) , "Die Loreley", 1994-5, published c1998 [tenor and piano], from Ein Liederbuch nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, Abteilung IV
by Johanna Kinkel, née Mockel (1810-1858) , "Die Lorelei", op. 7 (Sechs Lieder) no. 4, published 1838.
by Joseph Klein (1802-1862) , "Loreley: Ballade von H. Heine"
by E. Klitzsch , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 1 (Lieder) no. 6.
by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken (1810-1882) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 3 (Zwei Balladen) no. 1. [bass and piano]
by Franz Paul Lachner (1803-1890) , "Die Lore Ley", op. 35 (Zwölf deutsche Gesänge), Heft 2 no. 4.
by Franz (Ferencz) Liszt (1811-1886) , "Loreley", S. 273 (1841), published 1843.
by Franz (Ferencz) Liszt (1811-1886) , "Die Lore Ley: neue umgearbeitete Ausg.", S. 532 (1854-9), published 1856 [mezzo-soprano and piano], note: second version
by Franz (Ferencz) Liszt (1811-1886) , "Die Loreley", 1860, published 1862 [voice and orchestra], note: third version
by O. Lübbert , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 5 (Lieder) no. 2.
by Hermann von Maltzan , "Loreley", op. 12.
by Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold (1813-1889) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 74 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5.
by Alfred Michow , "Loreley (Was geht das mich an?)" [speaker and singer (with piano?)], parody
by Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Müller (1835-?) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 1 (Lieder) no. 4.
by Emil Naumann (1827-1888) , "Loreley: Ballade", op. 3.
by J. W. Nedelmann , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten"
by Joseph Netzer (1808-1864) , "Die Loreley", op. 13. [two men's voices, clarinet or horn, and piano]
by Carl Oberthür (1819-1895) , "Die Loreley", op. 72 (Drei deutsche Lieder) no. 3.
by W. Prischpiczek , "Böhmische Loreley (I was net was sull's bedeuten)"
by Heinrich Proch (1809-1878) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 222.
by (Joseph) Joachim Raff (1822-1882) , "Loreley", op. 98 no. 26 (1855-63), from Sanges-Frühling, no. 26.
by Otto Reutter (1870-1931) , "Die Loreley: eine Dialekt-Studie in Form eines Potpourris", from Original-Vorträge, no. 137, note: parody?
by Georg Rösser , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten: Couplet"
by Karl Friedrich Rungenhagen (1778-1851) , "Loreley", op. 38 (Sechs Lieder) no. 4. [low voice and piano]
by Louis Schlottmann (1826-1905) , "Die Lore-ley"
by Ruth Schonthal (1924-2006) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", 1990-1, published c1997, stanza 1 [soprano, flute, two clarinets, two percussion, violoncello, piano, and synthesizer], from Collagen, no. 1, note: also uses parts of a text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
by F. Schultz , "Die Loreley", from Gesänge, no. 4
by Friedrich August Schulz (1810-1893) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 45 (Myrthenkränzchen : Sammlung von Jugendliedern), Heft 2 no. 2.
by Clara Schumann, née Wieck (1819-1896) , "Lorelei"
by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789-1860) , "Die Loreley", published 1838. [voice and piano]
by Rudi Spring (1962-) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 17 (Ich weiß nicht was soll es bedeuten: 7 Lieder) no. 2. [tenor and piano]
by Wilhelm Steifensand (1820-1882) , "Loreley: Ballade", op. 9.
by Emil Steinkühler (1824-) , "Lorelei: von Heine", op. 15. [tenor and piano]
by Julius Stern (1820-1883) , "Die Loreley", op. 1 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 5.
by Reinhold Stöckhardt , "Loreley", op. 1 (Liederkranz), Heft 1 no. 1.
by Eugen Felix Richard Thiele (1847-1903) , "Parodie auf die Loreley", op. 62 [speaker and piano], from Melodramatische Parodien klassischer Gedichte, no. 7.
by Otto Tiehsen (1817-1849) , "Loreley", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge von Heine und Müller) no. 4, published 1839.
by Albert Karl Tottmann (1837-1917) , "Loreley", op. 14. [voice, violin, and piano]
by Walter Trautner (1903-) , "Die Loreley", op. 37 (Lieder) no. 3.
by Anton Urspruch (1850-1907) , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 6 (Liebeslieder nach Texten von Heinrich Heine), Heft 4 no. 3, published 1876.
by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803-1883) , "Loreley", op. 39 (Sechs Gedichte von Heine) no. 1, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 2.
by Th. Werner , "Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten", op. 1.
by P. Widemann , "Die Loreley", op. 2 (In Majas Zauber : drei Gedichte) no. 3.
by August Daniel Ferdinand Victor Wilhelmj (1845-1908) , "Loreley"
by Gotthard Wöhler , "Die Loreley", op. 1 (Drei Balladen von Heine) no. 3. [bass and piano]

by Theo. H. Northrup , "The Loreley: legend", op. 181 no. 1, published 1894.

by John G. Barnett (1802-1890) , "The Lore-Ley"

ENG English (Walter Meyer)
ITA Italian (M. T. Bulciolu)
ENG English (Emma Lazarus)
SPA Spanish (Alfredo García)
FRE French (Pierre Mathé)
FIN Finnish (Erkki Pullinen)

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

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Lorelei

I'm looking in vain for the reason
That I am so sad and distressed;
A tale known for many a season
Will not allow me to rest.

Cool is the air in the twilight
And quietly flows the Rhine;
The mountain top glows with a highlight
From the evening sun's last shine.

The fairest of maiden's reposing
So wonderously up there.
Her golden treasure disclosing;
She's combing her golden hair.

She combs it with comb of gold
And meanwhile sings a song
With melody strangely bold
And overpoweringly strong.

The boatman in his small craft
Is seized with longings, and sighs.
He sees not the rocks fore and aft;
He looks only up towards the skies.

I fear that the waves shall be flinging
Both vessel and man to their end;
That must have been what with her singing
The Lorelei did intend.

Authorship

Translation from German to English copyright © 1995 by Walter Meyer, walterm (AT) erols.com, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

a text in German by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) , no title, from Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 2 ITA FRE FIN SPA

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.