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What is that? ... Nothing; The leaves must fall, and falling, rustle; That is all: They are dead As they fall, - Dead at the foot of the tree; All that can be is said. What is it? ... Nothing. What is that? ... Nothing; A wild thing hurt but mourns in the night, And it cries In its dread, Till it lies Dead at the foot of the tree; All that can be is said. What is it? ... Nothing. What is that? ... Ah! A marching slow of unseen feet, That is all: But a bier, spread With a pall, Is now at the foot of the tree; All that could be is said. Is it ... what? ... Nothing.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Owls", subtitle: "An epitaph" [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Owls - an Epitaph", 2007 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Owls", subtitle: "An epitaph", op. 53 no. 4 (1908) [ ssaattbb chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 114
Was ist das? … Nichts; die Blätter müssen - raschelnd - fallen; das ist alles: Sie sind schon tot bei ihrem Fallen - tot am Fuß des Baumes; Alles, was man sagen kann, ist gesagt. Was ist es? … Nichts. Was ist das? … Nichts; ein wildes Ding, verwundet, nächtens klagt und heult in seiner Not, bis es liegt tot am Fuß des Baumes; Alles, was man sagen kann, ist gesagt. Was ist es? … Nichts. Was ist das? … Ach! Ein Marsch verborgner Füße, ohne Hast, das ist alles: Bloß eine Bahre, tuchverhüllt, steht nun am Fuß des Baumes; alles, was man sagen könnte, ist gesagt. Ist es … was? … Nichts.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Owls - an Epitaph" = "Eulen - ein Grabgedicht"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2018 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in English by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Owls", subtitle: "An epitaph"
This text was added to the website: 2018-08-27
Line count: 24
Word count: 110