"Yours Is My Heart Alone" or "You Are My Heart's Delight" (German: "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz") is an aria from the 1929 operetta The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns) with music by Franz Lehár and the libretto by Fritz Löhner-Beda and Ludwig Herzer. 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 Die gelbe Jacke (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

<poem lang="de" style="float:left;">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! ... <poem style="margin-left:1em; float:left;">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) <poem lang="it" style="margin-left:1em; float:left;">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" As "You Are My Heart's Delight" As "Yours Is My Heart Alone" As "Tu che m'hai preso il cuor"