by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
The heart asks pleasure ‑ first
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE GER GER
The heart asks pleasure - first,
And then excuse from pain.
And then those little anodynes
That deaden suffering.
And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The heart", 1920-31, published 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Quiet Airs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jules Langert (b. 1932), "The heart asks pleasure first", from Three Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Perle (1915 - 2009), "The heart asks pleasure first" [ voice and piano ], from Thirteen Dickinson Songs, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Keith Rogers (b. 1921), "The heart asks pleasure first", published 1948 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from Emily Dickinson, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le Cœur réclame le Plaisir - d'abord", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (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: 8
Word count: 40
Das Herz will erst die Freud'
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Das Herz will erst die Freud',
und Ausflucht dann vom Schmerz;
Tabletten dann, die gegen Leid
Abstumpfen jedes Herz.
Und dann nur schlafen still,
Und dann, in seiner Not
Und wenn es sein Befrager will,
Das Privileg zum Tod.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 8
Word count: 39