by Lev L'vovich Kobylinsky (1889 - 1947), as Ellis
Translation © by Aleksey Berg

Среди врагов
Language: Russian (Русский)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Мой черёд... На месте лобном
Петля страшная висит,
Молча в нетерпеньи злобном
Вкруг толпа врагов стоит;
Молча, с бородою красной,
Встал палач передо мной.
Но смеётся разум мой,
,,Всё, я знаю, всё напрасно!``

Я смеюсь, в лицо врагу
Я кричу: ,,Я жил, страдая,
Непрестанно умирая,
Умереть я не могу!
Сотни раз живой скелет,
Жалкий червь во тьме могилы.
Вновь я жизнь и дух и свет,
И дыханье новой силы!``

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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Aleksey Berg) , "Among the foes", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 69

Among the foes
Language: English  after the Russian (Русский) 
It’s my turn. On a public square,
A horrible noose hangs.
Silent in their angry impatience,
A mob of enemies is standing round;

Silently, with his red beard,
The hangman stands in front of me.
But, my mind is laughing,
“All I know, all is in vain.”

I laugh into the face of my enemy,
I yell, “I lived in suffering,
Always dying,
I cannot die!

Hundreds of times I have been a walking skeleton,
A puny worm in the darkness of the grave.
Again, I’m life, and spirit, and light,
And the breath of a new force!”

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2019 by Aleksey Berg, (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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This text was added to the website: 2019-07-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 98