Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt

"Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" ("Only he who knows what yearning is") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem appeared in Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. It is one of the songs of Mignon, a character in the novel.

The poem has been set to music by many composers,^[1] among them Beethoven, Schubert (six settings, the last two included in Gesänge aus "Wilhelm Meister, D 877), Schumann, Wolf and Tchaikovsky (via its translation into Russian by Lev Mei). Tchaikovsky's setting is often known in English as "None but the Lonely Heart" and has been set in many vocal, choral, and instrumental arrangements.

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Weiß, was ich leide! Allein und abgetrennt Von aller Freude, Seh ich ans Firmament Nach jener Seite. Ach! der mich liebt und kennt, Ist in der Weite. Es schwindelt mir, es brennt Mein Eingeweide. Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Weiß, was ich leide!

Only those who know longing Know what sorrows me! Alone and separated From all joy, I behold the firmament From yonder side. Ah! the one who loves and knows me Is in the vast unknown. It dizzies me, it burns my guts. Only those who know longing Know how I suffer!

References

1. "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt", The LiederNet Archive