English translations of Zwei Lieder, opus 60
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Der Frost hat mir bereifet
Des Hauses Dach;
Doch warm ist's mir geblieben
Im Wohngemach.
Der Winter hat die Scheitel
Mir weiß gedeckt.
Doch fließt das Blut, das rothe,
Durch's Herzgemach.
Der Jugendflor der Wangen,
Die Rosen sind
Gegangen, all' gegangen
Einander nach.
Wo sind sie hingegangen?
In's Herz hinab.
Da blühn sie nach Verlangen,
Wie vor so nach.
Sind alle Freudenströme
Der Welt versiegt?
Noch fließt mir durch den Busen
Ein stiller Bach.
Sind alle Nachtigallen
Der Flur verstummt?
Noch ist bei mir im Stillen
Hier eine wach.
Sie singet: Herr des Hauses!
Verschleuß dein Thor,
Daß nicht die Welt, die kalte,
Dring in's Gemach.
Schleuß aus den rauhen Odem
Der Wirklichkeit,
Und nur dem Duft der Träume
Gib Dach und Fach.
...
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Vom künftigen Alter", appears in Östliche Rosen, in 2. Zweite Lese, first published 1822
See other settings of this text.
Note: The poem was first published 1822 in Rückert's Oestliche Rosen where all the poems have no titles. In subsequent editions (Erlangen, 1837: Gesammelte Gedichte, Frankfurt a. M., 1868: Gesammelte Poetische Werke) this poem got the title Vom künftigen Alter and is printed in a different format: each two lines of the original poem have been combined into one single line, and the separation into stanzas has been abandoned.
Frost has covered
the roof of my house;
but I have stayed warm
in the living room.
Winter has covered in white
the crown of my head;
yet blood flows - red blood -
through my heart's chamber.
The youthful blossom of my cheeks -
the roses are
gone, all gone,
one after another -
Where have they gone?
into my heart:
there they bloom as they desire,
just as they did before.
Have all the joyous streams
in the world dried up?
Yet a quiet brook still flows
through my breast.
Have all the nightingales in the meadow
been silenced?
Yet here with me in the silence,
one is awake.
It sings: "Lord of the house!
lock your gate,
so that the cold world does not come
into your chamber.
Shut out the raw breath
of reality,
and give roof and room only
to the fragrance of dreams!"
[ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Vom künftigen Alter", appears in Östliche Rosen, in 2. Zweite Lese, first published 1822
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 180
Nimmer, das glaubt mir,
Erscheinen die Götter,
Nimmer allein.
Kaum daß ich Bacchus den lustigen habe,
Kommt auch schon Amor, der lächelnde Knabe,
Phöbus der Herrliche findet sich ein.
Sie nahen, sie kommen
Die Himmlischen alle,
Mit Göttern erfüllt sich
Die irdische Halle.
Sagt, wie bewirth' ich,
Der Erdegebohrne,
Himmlischen Chor?
Schenket mir euer unsterbliches Leben,
Götter! Was kann euch der Sterbliche geben?
Hebet zu eurem Olymp mich empor!
Die Freude, sie wohnt nur
In Jupiters Saale,
O füllet mit Nektar,
O reicht mir die Schale!
Reich ihm die Schale!
O schenke dem Dichter,
Hebe nur ein.
Netz' ihm die Augen mit himmlischem Thaue,
Daß er den Styx, den verhaßten, nicht schaue,
Einer der Unsern sich dünke zu sein.
Sie rauschet, sie perlet,
Die himmlische Quelle,
Der Busen wird ruhig,
Das Auge wird helle.
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Dithyrambe", written 1796, first published 1797
See other settings of this text.
First published 1797 with the title "Der Besuch" in Schiller's Musen-Almanach
Never, believe me, do the gods appear alone, never alone! Hardly do I see Bacchus the merry, when along comes Cupid as well, the smiling boy - and then Phoebus the magnificent arrives. They approach, they arrive, Celestial Beings all; with gods are the earthly halls filled. Tell me how I, an earth-born person, might receive and feed this divine chorus? Grant me your immortal life, Gods! What can a mortal give you? Lift me to your Olympus! Joy - it dwells only in Jupiter's hall. O fill me with ambrosia - pass me the goblet! Pass him the goblet! O pour for the poet, Hebe; pour for him. Moisten his eyes with heavenly dew, so that he will not see the despised Styx, thinking himself one of us. It roars, it sparkles - the celestial stream - the breast grows calm and the eye grows bright.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet ArchiveFor any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Dithyrambe", written 1796, first published 1797
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 143