Too late | When in distress of youth and shyness

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Zu spät

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Da ich in Jugendnot und Scham
Zu dir mit leiser Bitte kam,
Hast du gelacht
Und hast aus meiner Liebe
Ein Spiel gemacht.

Nun bist du müde und spielst nicht mehr,
Mit dunklen Augen blickst du her
Aus deiner Not,
Und willst die Liebe haben,
Die ich dir damals bot.

Ach, die ist lang verglommen
Und kann nicht wiederkommen -
Einst war sie dein!
Nun kennt sie keine Namen mehr
Und will alleine sein.

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 154-155.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Zu spät", written 1909/10, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911 [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 Ernst Beckert , "Zu spät", 1948-9 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Too late", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Trop tard", copyright © 2013, (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: 2009-04-30
Line count: 15
Word count: 73

Too late

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When in distress of youth and shyness
I came to you with a quiet plea,
You laughed
And made a game
Of my love.

Now you are tired and play no more,
With dark eyes you gaze forth
From your misery,
And wish to have the love
That I offered you back then.

Ah, that love has long died away
And cannot return -
Once it was yours!
Now it no longer knows any names
And wants to be alone.

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), "Zu spät", written 1909/10, appears in Unterwegs, first published 1911
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-02-06
Line count: 15
Word count: 79