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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Die Zypressen von San Clemente
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
Wir biegen flammend schlanke Wipfel im Wind,
Wir schauen Gärten, welche voll Frauen sind
Und voll Spiel und Gelächter. Wir schauen Gärten,
Wo Menschen geboren und wieder begraben werden.

Wir sehen Tempel, welche vor vielen Jahren
Voll von Göttern und voll von Betenden waren.
Aber die Götter sind tot und die Tempel sind leer
Und im Grase liegen gebrochene Säulen umher.

Wir sehen Täler und sehen silberne Weiten,
Wo Menschen sich freuen, müde werden und leiden,
Wo Reiter reiten und Priester Gebete sagen,
Wo Geschlechter und Brüder einander zu Grabe tragen.

Aber des Nachts, wenn die großen Stürme kommen,
Werden wir traurig und bücken uns todbeklommen,
Stemmen die Wurzeln angstvoll und warten leise,
Ob der Tod uns erreiche, oder vorüberreise.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

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 91-92.


Text Authorship:

  • by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Zypressen von San Clemente", written 1901, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Süden, first published 1919 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Richard Maux (1893 - 1971), "Die Zypressen von San Clemente", op. 181 no. 5 (1926), published 1941 [ high voice or medium-high voice and piano ], from Italische Reise, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Els xiprers de San Clemente", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The cypresses of San Clemente", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Les cyprès de San Clemente", copyright © 2017, (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: 2009-05-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 120

The cypresses of San Clemente
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
We incline flaming slender tree-tops in the wind,
We see gardens that are full of women
And full of play and laughter. We see gardens
Where people are born and are again buried.

We see temples that, many years go,
Were full of gods and full of praying people.
But the gods are dead and the temples are empty
And round about in the grass lie broken columns.

We are valleys and see silvery expanses,
Where people are happy, grow weary and suffer,
Where riders ride and priests utter prayers,
Where generations and brethren bear each other to the grave.

But at night, when the great storms come,
We become sad and bow down, oppressed unto death,
We brace our roots anxiously and wait quietly
To see if death shall reach us, or shall travel past.

Text 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Zypressen von San Clemente", written 1901, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Süden, first published 1919
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-03-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 136

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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