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Anmutig, geistig, arabeskenzart Scheint unser Leben sich wie das von Feen In sanften Tänzen um das Nichts zu drehen, Dem wir geopfert Sein und Gegenwart. Schönheit der Träume, holde Spielerei, So hingehaucht, so reinlich abgestimmt, Tief unter deiner heiteren Fläche glimmt Sehnsucht nach Nacht, nach Blut, nach Barbarei. Im Leeren dreht sich, ohne Zwang und Not, Frei unser Leben, stets zum Spiel bereit, Doch heimlich dürsten wir nach Wirklichkeit, Nach Zeugung und Geburt, nach Leid und Tod.
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, pages 329-330.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Doch heimlich dürsten wir...", written 1901, first published 1935 [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 Pfiffner (1922 - 2011), "Doch heimlich dürsten wir...", <<1983 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Glasperlenspiel-Gesänge, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Però secretament sedeguem...", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "But secretly we thirst...", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 77
Charming, spiritual, delicate as an arabesque, Our life, like that of fairies, appears to Revolve about nothingness in gentle dances, [Nothingness] to which we have sacrificed being and the present. Beauty of dreams, lovely play, Simply breathed forth, so purely attuned, Far below your bright surface gleams Yearning for night, for blood, for barbarity. Our life revolves freely in emptiness, Without compulsion and distress, always ready for play, But secretly we thirst for reality, For begetting and birth, for suffering and death.
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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Doch heimlich dürsten wir...", written 1901, first published 1935
This text was added to the website: 2018-02-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 82