"Yours Is My Heart Alone" or "You Are My Heart's Delight" (German: "") is an aria from the 1929 operetta The Land of Smiles () with music by Franz Lehár and the libretto by Fritz Löhner-Beda and . It was for many years associated with the tenor Richard Tauber, for whom it was written. The aria is sung by the character of Prince Sou-Chong in act 2. An American version of the show opened on Broadway in 1946 starring Tauber but it soon closed as Tauber had throat trouble.
The aria has been sung in Italian (as "Tu che m'hai preso il cuor" [You who have taken my heart]) by a few operatic tenors, notably Giuseppe Di Stefano, Mario Del Monaco, and Luciano Pavarotti.
Composition
Written in D-flat major, Lehár had composed parts of the song already in 1923 when the original version of the operetta premiered under the title (The Yellow Jacket). When Löhner-Beda re-arranged the operetta, he moved Prince Sou-Chong's passage from act 1 to act 2. With new lyrics, it has possibly become Lehár's most famous single song, popularised by Tauber, who sang it at almost every recital he gave, often as an encore. With Tauber's emigration to London in 1938, it became popular also in the English-speaking world with lyrics by Harry B. Smith, which had originally been written in 1931, and went on to become a staple of light music repertoire for tenor voice. It became a standard and has been covered by artists from other genres, like jazz, swing, big band, and pop music.
Lyrics
Dein ist mein ganzes Herz! Wo du nicht bist, kann ich nicht sein, so, wie die Blume welkt, wenn sie nicht küßt der Sonnenschein! Dein ist mein schönstes Lied, weil es allein aus der Liebe erblüht. Sag' mir noch einmal, mein einzig Lieb, o sag' noch einmal mir: Ich hab' dich lieb!
Wohin ich immer gehe, ich fühle deine Nähe. Ich möchte deinen Atem trinken und betend dir zu Füssen sinken, dir, dir allein! Wie wunderbar ist dein leuchtendes Haar! Traumschön und sehnsuchtsbang ist dein strahlender Blick. Hör ich der Stimme Klang, ist es so wie Musik.
Dein ist mein ganzes Herz! ... You are my heart's delight, And where you are, I long to be You make my darkness bright, When like a star you shine on me Shine, then, my whole life through Your life divine bids me hope anew That dreams of mine may at last come true And I shall hear you whisper, "I love you."
In dreams when night is falling
I seem to hear you calling
For you have cast a net around me
And 'neath a magic spell hath bound me
Yours, yours alone
How wondrous fair is your beautiful hair
Bright as a summer sky
is the night in your eyes
Soft as a sparkling star
is the warmth of my love.
You are my heart's delight, (repeat first verse) Tu che m'hai preso il cuor sarai per me il solo amor. No, non ti scorderò, vivrò per te, ti sognerò. Te o nessuna mai più ormai per me, come il sole sei tu, lontan da te è morir d'amor perchè sei tu che m'hai rubato il cuor.
Ti vedo tra le rose, ti dico tante cose. se il vento lieve t'accarezza un profumar di giovinezza mi fai tremar! La notte sogno tremando di te quale incantesimo il mio cuor sul tuo cuor mentre si schiudono le pupille tue d'or.
Tu che m'hai preso il cuor
...
Notable recordings
As "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" 1929 Richard Tauber – recorded October 3, 1929 1946 Lauritz Melchior 1990 Plácido Domingo – included in the live album The Three Tenors in Concert. Franco Bonisolli – live performance; interpolated a high D-flat at the end. José Carreras
As "You Are My Heart's Delight" 1929 Richard Tauber – Parlophone RO20107 1931 Roy Fox and His Band – vocal Al Bowlly – recorded August 18, 1931. (Al Bowlly discography) 1931 Richard Crooks 1941 Richard Tauber – Parlophone R.O.20500