King Kophetua | King Kophetua lifted his golden crown

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by Richard von Schaukal (1874 - 1942)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

König Kophetua hob seine goldene Krone

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

König Kophetua hob seine goldene Krone
Von den goldenen Locken und schwieg.
Auf sein Schwert gestützt ging er und stieg
Über die steilen Stufen, und ohne
Sich umzusehn, ließ er die staunende Schar.

Oben saß in mondlichtschimmernder Blässe
Eine Bettlerin, in den Mantel der dichten
Haare gehüllt. Ein großes Verzichten
Lag in ihrer Augen blinkender Nässe.
Und so träumte sie, jeglichen Schmuckes bar.

König Kophetua legte die goldene Krone
Über die eisengerüsteten Knie und harrte
Auf einer der Stufen, bis ihn die traurige, zarte
Magd erblicke, flehentlich, ohne
Sich umzusehn, wo sein Gefolge war …

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Deutsche Lyrik seit Liliencron, herausgegeben von Hans Bethge, Leipzig: Hesse & Becker Verlag, 1921, pages 215-216.

Text Authorship:

by Richard von Schaukal (1874 - 1942), "Kophetua" [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 Henk Bijvanck (1909 - 1969), "König Kophetùa", copyright © 1958 [ bass and piano ], from Drei Balladen, no. 1, Amsterdam: Donemus [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "King Kophetua", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-08-19
Line count: 15
Word count: 95

King Kophetua

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

King Kophetua lifted his golden crown
From off his golden locks and fell silent.
Resting his hand on his sword, he stepped out and ascended
The steep steps, and without
Looking back, he departed from the astonished crowd.

Upstairs, bleached by pale moonlight sat
A young female beggar, in a coat of thick
Fur, enfolded. A heavy sense of resignation
Welled up in her brimming eyes.
And so she dreamed, bare of any ornament.

King Kophetua rested the golden crown
On his rusting iron-clad knees and paused
on one of the steps, so he could catch a glimpse of the sad, tender
Maiden, fleetingly, without
Looking back towards his [waiting] his retinue …

Translator's note: The king is wearing a suit of armor.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 by Laura Prichard, (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 Richard von Schaukal (1874 - 1942), "Kophetua"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-08-22
Line count: 15
Word count: 113