Four small songs

Song Cycle by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Original language: Vier kleine Lieder

1. Die klare Welt   [sung text checked 1 time]
Wie im Auge mit fliegenden Mücken,
So ist's mit Sorgen ganz genau;
Wenn wir in die schöne Welt hinein blicken,
Da schwebt ein Spinneweben-Grau;
Es überzieht nicht, es zieht nur vorüber,
Das Bild ist gestört, wenn nur nicht trüber;
Die klare Welt bleibt klare Welt:
Im Auge nur ist's schlecht bestellt.

Authorship:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El clar món", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "The clear world", written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
1. The clear world
As a mote of dust flies into the eye,
So is it truly with worry.
When we look into the beauty of the world,
There awaits a gray cobweb;
It covers nothing, yet it is pulled over all.
The picture seems disturbed, though merely clouded.
The clear world remains a lucid world:
Only in the eye does it seem to be less.

Authorship:

Based on:


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 62

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)
2. Nichts  [sung text checked 1 time]
Nichts wird rechts und links mich kränken,
Folg ich kühn dem raschen Flug;
Wollte jemand anders denken,
Ist der Weg ja breit genug.

Authorship:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Res", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Nothing", written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
2. Nothing
Nothing left or right will lure me aside,
As I follow in headlong rush;
Lest someone might think otherwise,
The path is certainly wide enough.

Authorship:

Based on:


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 4
Word count: 25

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)
3. Einheit  [sung text checked 1 time]
Einheit ewigen Lichts zu spalten,
Müssen wir für törig halten,
Wenn euch Irrtum schon genügt.
Hell und Dunkel, Licht und Schatten,
Weiß man klüglich sie zu gatten,
Ist das Farbenreich besiegt.

Authorship:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Unitat", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Unity", written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
3. Unity
To break asunder a unity's eternal light,
We must remain foolhardy,
Where such errors serve quite sufficiently.
Brilliance and darkness, light and shadow,
One cleverly unifies such,
And thus is the richness of difference conquered.

Authorship:

Based on:


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 6
Word count: 35

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)
4. An Gottes Thron  [sung text checked 1 time]
Nachts, wann gute Geister schweifen,
Schlaf dir von der Stirne streifen,
Mondenlicht und Sternenflimmern
Dich mit ewigem All umschimmern,
Scheinst du dir entkörpert schon,
Wagest dich an Gottes Thron.

Authorship:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Al tron de Déu", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Before God's throne", written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
4. Before God's throne
Night, when goodly spirits roam,
As the brow is brushed by sleep,
Moonlight and flickering stars
Shimmer over you with the infinite,
And seeming almost incorporeal,
You dare to come before God's throne.

Authorship:

Based on:


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 6
Word count: 33

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)
Total word count: 155