Meine dunklen Hände

Song Cycle by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985)

1. Minstrel man
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter
And my throat
Is deep with song,
You do not think
I suffer after
I have held my pain
So long.

Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter,
You do not hear my inner cry?
Because my feet
Are gay with dancing
You do not know
I die?

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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 Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 24.


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

1. Bänkelsänger
 (Sung text)

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Nur weil mein Mund
 [ ... ]

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2. Trommel
 (Sung text)

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wisse, Herz
 [ ... ]

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Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 33.


2. Drum
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Bear in mind
That death is a drum
Beating forever
Till the last worms come
To answer its call,
Till the last stars fall,
Until the last atom
Is no atom at all,
Until time is lost
And there is no air
And space itself
Is nothing nowhere.
Death is a drum,
A signal drum,
Calling all life
To come, come,
Come.

Text Authorship:

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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 Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 32.


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

3. Schwarzes Mädchen  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Trommelt, Regen, Wind
 [ ... ]

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Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 37.


3. Dark girl
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Easy on your drums
 [ ... ]

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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.

Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 36.


4. Song for a Dark Girl  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
Way Down South in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
They hung my [dark]1 young lover
To a crossroads tree.

Way Down South in Dixie
(Bruised body high in air)
I asked the white Lord Jesus
What was the use of prayer.

Way Down South in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
Love is a naked shadow
On a gnarled and naked tree.

Text Authorship:

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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.

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Moore: "black"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

4. Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen
 (Sung text)

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Tief im Süden Dixies
 [ ... ]

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Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 39.


5. When Sue wears red  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
When Susanna Jones wears red
Her face is like an ancient cameo
Turned brown by the ages.
 
Come with a blast of trumpets, Jesus!
 
When Susanna Jones wears red
A queen from some-time Egyptian night
Walks once again.
 
Blow trumpets, Jesus!
 
And the beauty of Susanna Jones in red
Burns in my heart a love-fire sharp like pain.
 
Sweet silver trumpets, Jesus!

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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 Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 62.


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

5. Wenn Susanna Jones trägt Rot  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wenn Susanna Jones trägt Rot
 [ ... ]

Text Authorship:

Based on:

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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.

Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 63.


Total word count: 559