Little lad | When I have been punished

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Kleiner Knabe

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Hat man mich gestraft,
Halt ich meinen Mund,
Weine mich in Schlaf,
Wache auf gesund.

Hat man mich gestraft,
Heißt man mich den Kleinen,
Will ich nicht mehr weinen,
Lache mich in Schlaf.

Große Leute sterben,
Onkel, Großpapa,
Aber ich, ich bleibe
Immer, immer da.

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, page 392.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Kleiner Knabe", written 1960 [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 Wolfgang Nening (b. 1966), "Kleiner Knabe", 2004/5 [ medium voice and piano ], from 4 Lieder nach Texten von Hermann Hesse, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Little lad", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-12-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 45

Little lad

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When I have been punished,
I keep quiet,
I cry myself to sleep,
I wake up healthy.

When I have been punished,
When they call me the little one,
I no longer wish to cry,
I laugh myself to sleep.

Grown-up folks die,
Uncles, grandfathers,
But I, I shall be there
Always, always.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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), "Kleiner Knabe", written 1960
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-01-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 53