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Ruft die Mutter, ruft der Tochter Über drei Gebirge: "Ist, o Mara, liebe Tochter, Ist gebleicht das Linnen?" Ihr zurück die junge Tochter Über neun Gebirge: "Nicht in's Wasser, liebe Mutter, Taucht' ich noch das Linnen, Denn, o sieh', es hat das Wasser Jawo mir getrübet. - Wie dann erst, o liebe Mutter, Hätt' ich es gebleicht schon! Fluch' ihm, Mutter, liebe Mutter! Ich auch will ihm fluchen. Gäbe Gott im hellen Himmel, Daß er sich erhänge - An ein böses Bäumchen hänge, An den weißen Hals mir! Gäbe Gott im hellen Himmel, Daß er lieg' gefangen - Lieg' gefangen tief im Kerker, An der weißen Brust mir! Gäbe Gott, der Herr im Himmel, Daß er Ketten trage - Ketten trage, festgeschlungen, Meine weißen Arme! Gäbe Gott im hellen Himmel, Daß ihn nähm' das Wasser - Daß ihn nähm' das wilde Wasser, Mir in's Haus ihn bringe!"
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Fluch ihm, Mutter, ich auch will ihm fluchen", appears in Die Gesänge der Serben, Leipzig, first published 1852 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Serbian (Српски) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Марина клешва", appears in Српске народне пјесме - скупио ис и на свијет издао Вук Стеф. Караџић (Srpske narodne pjesme), Volume I, page 382-383 (Poem 531).
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Mädchenfluch", op. 69 (Neun Gesänge) no. 9 (1877), published 1877, first performed 1878 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De vloek van een meisje", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "A maiden's curse", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La malédiction de la jeune fille", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-05
Line count: 30
Word count: 142
The mother calls, calls to her daughter Across three mountains: "Is, o Mara, dear daughter, The linen bleached?" Back to her, the young daughter calls Across nine mountains: "Nothing is in the water, dear mother, I haven't dipped the linen yet For, you see, Jawo has Muddied the water. How, then, o dear mother, Could I have bleached it? Curse him, mother, dear mother! I will curse him too. May God in bright heaven grant That he might hang himself On a terrible little tree... On my white neck! May God in bright heaven grant That he might lie imprisoned, Imprisoned deep in a dungeon... On my white breast! May God grant, o lord in heaven, That he might wear chains - Wear chains tightly about him... My white arms! May God in bright heaven grant, That the waters might seize him - That the wild waters might seize him... And bring him to my house!"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Fluch ihm, Mutter, ich auch will ihm fluchen", appears in Die Gesänge der Serben, Leipzig, first published 1852
Based on:
- a text in Serbian (Српски) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Марина клешва", appears in Српске народне пјесме - скупио ис и на свијет издао Вук Стеф. Караџић (Srpske narodne pjesme), Volume I, page 382-383 (Poem 531).
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-05
Line count: 30
Word count: 154