Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Diese Mühsal, durch noch Ungetanes schwer und wie gebunden hinzugehn, gleicht dem ungeschaffnen Gang des Schwanes. Und das Sterben, dieses Nichtmehrfassen jenes Grunds, auf dem wir täglich stehn, seinem ängstlichen Sich-Niederlassen - : in die Wasser, die ihn sanft empfangen und die sich, wie glücklich und vergangen, unter ihm zurückziehen, Flut um Flut; während er unendlich still und sicher immer mündiger und königlicher und gelassener zu ziehn geruht.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Schwan", appears in Neue Gedichte, first published 1892 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Andreas Birnbaum , "Der Schwan", from Dingwelten-Weltdinge, no. 13, Blackbird Musikverlag Produktion Andreas Homm [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wim Franken (b. 1922), "Der Schwan", 1959, from Zes Rilke-liederen, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ilse Fromm-Michaels (1888 - 1986), "Der Schwan", 1948/49 [ baritone and piano ], from Drei Rilke-Gesänge, no. 1, Sikorski [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Lackerschmid (b. 1956), "Der Schwan" [ voice and vibraphone ], from Neue jazzorientierte Lieder. Nach Texten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Julius Marx (1897 - 1985), "Der Schwan", op. 50 no. 1c (1949) [ voice and piano ], from Der Panther und andere Rilke-Gedichte, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Peter Radt (1899 - ?), "Der Schwan", published 1954 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder, no. 6, Wilhelmshaven : Heinrichhofen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Xavier Rodríguez (b. 1946), "Der Schwan", 1971 [ voice and piano ], from Four Poems from ‘Neue Gedichte’, no. 4, Alhambra [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reinhold Ruiss , "Der Schwan" [ tenor and piano ], from Rilke Lieder, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julian James Wachner (b. 1969), "Der Schwan" [ chorus ], from Rilke Songs, no. 4, E. C. Schirmer Music Company [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erwin Zillinger (1893 - 1974), "Schwan" [ soprano and orchestra ], from Der zoologische Garten : eine heiter-besinnliche Liederfolge, Leipzig : Kistner & Siegel  [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le cygne", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 68
Cette difficulté à disparaître dans l'encore inachevé, lourdement et comme sous la contrainte, ressemble à l'allure innée du cygne. Et mourir, le lâcher prise de ce sol sur lequel nous sommes tous les jours, ressemble à son anxieux abandon : dans les eaux qui l'accueillent placidement et qui, heureuses et immémoriales, passent sous lui, vaguelette après vaguelette, tandis que sans fin, silencieux et sûr, toujours plus calme et plus royal et plus impassible il daigne passer.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Schwan", appears in Neue Gedichte, first published 1892
This text was added to the website: 2013-01-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 76