Aquí reposa l’oficinista que ha passat mitja vida

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by Herbert Asquith (1881 - 1947)

Translation © by Salvador Pila

Here lies the clerk who half his life...

Language: English

Our translations: CAT

Here lies the clerk who half his life had spent
Toiling at ledgers in a city grey,
Thinking that so his days would drift away
With no lance broken in life's tournament:
Yet ever 'twixt the books and his bright eyes
The gleaming eagles of the legions came,
And horsemen, charging under phantom skies,
Went thundering past beneath the oriflamme.

And now those waiting dreams are satisfied;
From twilight to the halls of dawn he went;
His lance is broken; but he lies content
With that high hour, in which he lived and died.
And falling thus, he wants no recompense,
Who found his battle in the last resort;
Nor needs he any hearse to bear him hence,
Who goes to join the men of Agincourt.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Herbert Asquith (1881 - 1947), "The volunteer", written 1912 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Epitaph: The Clerk" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 126

Aquí reposa l’oficinista que ha passat...

Language: Catalan (Català) after the English

Aquí reposa l’oficinista que ha passat mitja vida
treballant en els llibres de comptabilitat d’una grisa ciutat,
pensant que així passarien els seus dies
sense trencar cap llança en el torneig de la vida:
però sempre enmig dels llibres i els seus ulls brillants
venien les resplendents àguiles de les legions,
i cavallers a l’assalt sota cels fantasmals,
passaven retrunyint sota l’oriflama.

I ara aquells somnis posats de banda estan satisfets;
ell anà del crepuscle a les sales de l’alba;
s’ha trencat la seva llança, però ell reposa content
amb aquella gran hora en la que ell visqué i morí.
I caient així, no vol cap recompensa,
ell que trobà la seva batalla al capdavall;
ni tampoc per això necessita cap cotxe de morts que el porti,
ell que va a unir-se amb els homes d’Azincourt.*

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Epitaph: The Clerk" = "Epitafi: L’oficinista"
"The volunteer" = "El voluntari"

* Azincourt: Famosa batalla de la Guerra dels Cent Anys el 1415.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2024 by Salvador Pila, (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 English by Herbert Asquith (1881 - 1947), "The volunteer", written 1912
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-09-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 136