by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Einsamkeit
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
[Der Weg ist schwer, der Weg ist weit]1,
Doch kann ich nicht zurück;
Wer einmal dein ist, Einsamkeit,
Dem bist du Tod und Glück.
Die Sehnsucht brennt; von drunten her
Ruft mütterlich die Welt;
Wie ist ihr Ruf von Liebe schwer,
Wie rot von Lust erhellt.
Doch wer den ersten Becher trank
Vom Wasser Einsamkeit,
Dem singt kein Vogel mehr zum Dank,
Der geht nicht mehr zu zweit.
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View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 552-553.
1 H. Müller, H. Wagner: "Der Weg ist weit, der Weg ist schwer"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Emil Kühnel (1881 - 1971), "Einsamkeit", op. 91 no. 2 (1953) [ baritone and piano ], fragment [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Müller , "Einsamkeit ", 1931 [ voice, piano, and violoncello ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hermann Unger (1886 - 1958), "Einsamkeit ", op. 103 no. 2 (1949-51) [ medium voice, flute, oboe, clarinet, and piano ], from Drei Lieder nach ungedruckten Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Helmut Wagner , "Einsamkeit", op. 3 no. 15 (1951) [ baritone and piano ], from Drei Lieder für Bariton nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Solitude", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2009-05-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 68
Solitude
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
[The way is difficult, the way is long]1,
But I cannot go back;
He who once belongs to you, solitude,
To him you are death and happiness.
Yearning burns; from down below
The world calls like a mother;
How her cry is laden with love,
How rosily bright with joy.
But he who has quaffed the first goblet
Of the water solitude,
To him no bird sings more in gratitude,
He no longer walks as a twosome [with anyone else].
View original text (without footnotes)
1 H. Müller, H. Wagner: "The way is long, the way is difficult"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Einsamkeit", subtitle: "(1918)", written 1918
This text was added to the website: 2018-01-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 80