Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer who was born in the late 18th century. He is well known for composing beautiful piano masterpieces such as Für Elise and Moonlight Sonata, but few people know that at the age of twenty-five, a romantic young Beethoven composed the piano accompaniment for a love poem called Ich Liebe Dich. The poem was written by Ludwig Hölty, a poet whose poems also inspired other composers like Mozart, Schubert and Brahms to set music to them and turn them into songs. Like many of Hölty’s poems, Ich Liebe Dich is joyful and hopeful but with a vein of melancholy that runs through it. The song reminds the listener that no relationship is free from troubles and while the singer courageously claims that he could take on his lover’s troubles as his own; the youthful naïvety of this claim is apparent. Beethoven has compounded the emotional meaning of the lyrics by composing a tune that is wistful and longing, but empty of any real power. So while the singer offers his best wishes that God might watch over his lover, he offers no real-world support or care for his lover himself. The lyrics and music together make a pretty song, but the piece lacks the punch that other of Beethoven’s compositions packed, which is possibly why it is not so well-known.
Ich liebe dich means I love you in German, and as the title suggests, the lyrics of Beethoven’s love song describe the singer’s affection for his beloved. When translated into English, the lyrics read,
I love but thee as thou dost me,
at morning, noon and even,
and every care I fain would share,
that to thy life is given.
Should all our way with roses bloom,
and sorrow never trouble,
thy lightest tear I’d still assume,
and all thy joy would double.
Thy joy would double.
May heaven’s blessings on thee fall,
O thou, my heart’s best treasure.
God shelter thee, whate’er befall,
and give Love’s fullest measure.
God shelter thee, my life, my all,
O thou, my heart’s best treasure.
O thou, my life’s best treasure.
My heart’s best treasure.
If you’d like to play and sing this song yourself, here’s the sheet music with lyrics.
