The sorrows of young Werther (Original English version)

from Original Werther by David Warin Solomons

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The Sorrows of Werther, in the original English of Thackeray's Goethe-parody and moving on to my translations of the poem into German and French.
The original novel by Goethe was quasi-autobiographical, Charlotte being Charlotte Buff with whom the young poet was passionately in love.
Thankfully Goethe himself did not take the final suicidal act of his protagonist here, but he regretted having written the piece, which became very popular and not only inspired a whole series of desperate romantics and became a figurehead for the Sturm und Drang period, but also put his other youthful works, including the original version of Faust (Urfaust) and Götz von Berlichingen, in the shade.

lyrics

Original poem by W M Thackeray 1811-1863

WERTHER had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.

Charlotte was a married lady,
And a moral man was Werther,
And for all the wealth of Indies
Would do nothing for to hurt her.

So he sigh’d and pin’d and ogled,
And his passion boil’d and bubbled
Till he blew his silly brains out,
And no more was by it troubled.

Charlotte, having seen his body
Borne before her on a shutter,
Like a well-conducted person,
Went on cutting bread and butter."

credits

from Original Werther, released January 8, 2016

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David Warin Solomons Sale, UK

Composer from UK born in 1953, concentrating on lyrical and tonal works for chamber music combinations, solo voice and choral works.

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