by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Dorfkirchhof
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE
So nahe lieget ihr beisammen
In eurem Garten, stille Schar.
Von eures Lebens grellen Flammen
Loht keine mehr. Das Glockenläuten
Will euch nicht Leid noch Lust bedeuten,
Noch Anklang dessen, was einst war.
Euch ist genug, dass in den Lüften
Hoch über euch der Flieder blüht
Und Sommernachts mit warmen Düften
Ob eurer Stätte festlich glüht.
Was noch in euch als Kraft, Begierde
Und unerlöster Drang gelebt,
Ist nun erlöst und frei und schwebt
Im Duft dahin als Spiel und Zierde.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, 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, page 154.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Village churchyard", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Cimetière de village", 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: 2009-05-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 81
Village churchyard
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
You lie so close together
In your garden, you silent throng.
None of the lurid flames of your life
Blazes any longer. The bells’ tolling
Means neither sorrow nor joy to you,
Nor an echo of that which once was.
For you it is enough that in the breezes
High above you the lilac blooms
And on summer nights with warm scents
Glows festively above your resting place.
What yet lived within you as power, desire,
And unredeemed urging,
Is now redeemed and free and wafts
Away in scent as play and adornment.
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), "Dorfkirchhof", written 1908
This text was added to the website: 2018-03-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 93