LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,138)
  • Text Authors (19,558)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,114)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

×

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.

by Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929)
Translation © by Lau Kanen

Blindenklage
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Wenn ich dich frage, dem das Leben blüht:
O sage mir, sage wie das Mohnfeld glüht!
Das rote Mohnfeld, wie es jauchzt und lacht:
Tot ist mein Pfad und ewig meine Nacht.

Wohl manch ein Unglück schlägt den Menschen schwer;
Wer so viel trägt, kennt keinen Jammer mehr.
Die sonnenhellen Fluren wankt er blind
Und tappt nach Spuren, die verschüttet sind.

Ich träume Sonnen, strecke weit die Hand,
Ich möchte greifen durch die dunkle Wand,
Ich möchte fassen durch der Schatten Schicht
In roten Mohn und strahlend goldnes Licht.

Aus alten Zeiten zuckt ein Schimmer nach,
In toten Augen blieb die Sehnsucht wach
Und wissend von der Herrlichkeit des Lichts.
So ganz enterbt geh ich durch Nacht und Nichts.

Ob Freud, ob Leid begegnet meinen Wegen,
Tot ist mein Fluch, und tot ist auch mein Segen.

Text Authorship:

  • by Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929), "Blindenklage" [author's text not yet checked 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 Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Blindenklage", op. 56 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2 (1903-6) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Plany d’un cec", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Klacht van een blinde", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Blind man's lament", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Complainte de l'aveugle", copyright © 2013, (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: 18
Word count: 136

Klacht van een blinde
Language: Dutch (Nederlands)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Als ‘k u mag vragen, u wie ‘t leven bloeit:
De klaprozen, zeg mij hoe dat allemaal gloeit!
Die rode akker, hoe die juicht en lacht:
Dood is mijn pad en eeuwig is mijn nacht.

Wel heel wat rampspoed slaat de mensen neer;
Wie zo veel draagt weet niet te klagen meer.
Door zonbeschenen velden doolt hij blind
En tast naar sporen die hij niet meer vindt.

Ik droom van zonnen, strek ver uit mijn hand,
Ik zou graag grijpen door de donk’re wand,
Ik zou graag pakken door dat duister dicht
De rode bloem en ’t stralend gouden licht.

Uit oude tijden flitst nog flikkering,
In dode ogen leeft nog hunkering,
Nog wetend van het licht, de stralenpracht.
Totaal onterfd loop ik door lege nacht.

Of lief of leed zich aandient op mijn wegen,
Dood is mijn vloek en dood is ook mijn zegen.

Text Authorship:

  • Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2018 by Lau Kanen, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.

    Lau Kanen.  Contact: boudewijnkanen (AT) gmail (DOT) com


    If the copyright-holder(s) are unreachable for three business days, please write to: licenses@email.lieder.example.net


Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Karl Friedrich Henckell (1864 - 1929), "Blindenklage"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-12-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 145

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris