Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt explained

"" ("Only he who knows yearning") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem appears in the 11th chapter of Book Four of Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. In the novel, it is sung as a duet by Mignon and the harpist (Augustin) the latter being revealed as her father at the end of the novel.^{[1] [2]}

The poem has been set to music by many composers,^[3] 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 kenntWeiß, was ich leide!Allein und abgetrenntVon aller Freude,Seh ich ans FirmamentNach jener Seite. Ach	der mich liebt und kennt,Ist in der Weite.Es schwindelt mir, es brenntMein Eingeweide.Nur wer die Sehnsucht kenntWeiß, was ich leide!	Only those who know longingKnow what sorrows me!Alone and separatedFrom all joy,I look into the skyTo the yonder side. Ah	the one who loves and knows meIs in the distance.It dizzies me, it burnsmy guts.Only those who know longingKnow how I suffer!

Notes and References

1. Web site: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Bd. 2. Frankfurt (Main) u. A., 1795. .
2. Web site: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.
3. http://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=17759 "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt"