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O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst

O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst is a poem written by Ferdinand Freiligrath, a 19th century German writer. In 1847, Hungarian composer Franz Liszt set the poem to music (soprano voice and piano), and eventually adapted it into his famous Liebesträume No. 3. The work is one of Liszt's most famous and poignant. Liebesträume in German means Dreams of Love (Liebestraum in singular).

Here are the first verses that Liszt copied on the piano score:

O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!
O lieb, so lang du lieben magst!
Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt,
wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst !

with a very approximate translation:

O love, so long as you can!
O love, so long as you may!
The time comes, the time comes,
Where you'll cry and weep on their graves!

External links

• (German) Zwischen den Garben, the complete German text.