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Was frag' ich viel nach Geld und Gut, Wenn ich zufrieden bin! Giebt Gott mir nur gesundes Blut, So hab' ich frohen Sinn, Und sing' [aus]1 dankbarem Gemüth Mein Morgen- und mein Abendlied. So mancher schwimmt im Überfluß, Hat Haus und Hof und Geld; Und ist doch immer voll Verdruß Und freut sich nicht der Welt. Je mehr er hat, je mehr er will, Nie schweigen seine Klagen still. Da heißt die Welt ein Jammerthal Und deucht mir doch so schön, -- Hat Freuden ohne Maaß und Zahl, -- Läßt Keinen leer ausgehn. Das Käferlein, das Vögelein Darf sich ja auch des [Mayen]2 freu'n. Und uns zu Liebe schmücken ja Sich Wiese, Berg' und Wald, Und Vögel singen fern und nah Daß alles wiederhallt; Bei Arbeit singt die Lerch' uns zu, Die Nachtigall bey süßer Ruh. Und wenn die goldne Sonn' aufgeht, Und golden wird die Welt, Und Alles in der Blüthe steht, Und Ähren trägt das Feld; Dann denk' ich: alle diese Pracht Hat Gott zu meiner Lust gemacht. Dann preis' ich Gott, und [lob' ich]3 Gott Und schweb' in hohem Muth. Und denk'! Es ist ein lieber Gott, [Und]4 meynt's mit Menschen gut! Drum will ich immer dankbar seyn, Und mich der Güte Gottes freun.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Die Feyerstunden der Grazien, Zweiter Theil, Bern, in der Hallerschen Buchhandlung, 1782, pages 127-128.
Note: modern spelling convention would change "Giebt" to "Gibt", "Gemüth" to "Gemüt", "Jammerthal" to "Jammertal", "Mayen" to "Maien", "wiederhallt" to "widerhallt", "bey" to "bei", "Blüthe" to "Blüte", "Muth" to "Mut", "meynts" to "meint's", and "seyn" to "sein"
See Trostlied der Blinden, which adapts some lines from the first stanza.
1 Zumsteeg: "mit"2 Mozart: "Lebens"
3 Mozart, Zumsteeg: "lobe"
4 Zumsteeg: "Der"
Authorship:
- by Johannes Martin Miller (1750 - 1814), "Zufriedenheit" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl Christian Agthe (1762 - 1797), "Zufriedenheit" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), "Die Zufriedenheit", K. 349, 367a (1781) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748 - 1798), "Die Zufriedenheit", published 1777, Musen Almanach für 1777. Hrsg. J. H. Voß. Hamburg: C. E. Bohn [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (1760 - 1802), "Lied", published 1803 [ voice and piano ], from Kleine Balladen und Lieder, Heft V, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le contentement", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Covadonga González Bernardo) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 205
Why would I ask for money and goods, When I am so contented! If God just gives me healthy blood, I will have a happy mind, And sing from a thankful disposition My morning and my evening song. So many folks swim in affluence, With home and land and money; And yet are so full of annoyance And get no joy from the world. The more one has, the more one wants, The complaining never ceasing. The world has been called a vale of misery But seems so beautiful to me, -- Having delights without measure or end, -- Allowing none to go away empty. A little beetle, a little bird Also takes delight in the flowers. And for the sake of our love Field, mountain and forest adorn themselves, And birds sing far and near So that the sounds echo everywhere; The lark sings to us as we work, The nightingale as we take sweet rest. And when the gilded sun rises And the earth becomes golden, And everything blooms, And the field bears its verdure; Then I think: all of this magnificence God has created for my pleasure. Then I glorify God, and praise God And my spirits soar. And think! God is dear And intends good for humankind! Therefore, I will be grateful forever, And revel in God’s goodness.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Die Zufriedenheit" = "Contentment"
"Lied" = "Song"
"Zufriedenheit" = "Contentment"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 by Michael P Rosewall, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johannes Martin Miller (1750 - 1814), "Zufriedenheit"
This text was added to the website: 2024-05-06
Line count: 36
Word count: 220