Die verrückte Jane spricht mit dem Bischof | Ich traf den Bischof auf der Straß'

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by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

Translation © by Walter A. Aue

Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop

(Sung text for setting by S. Grill)

See original

Language: English

Our translations: GER GER

I met the Bishop on the road
And much said he and I.
"Those breasts are flat and fallen now,
Those veins must soon be dry;
Live in a heavenly mansion,
Not in some foul sty."

"Fair and foul are near of kin,
And fair needs foul," I cried.
"My friends are gone, but that's a truth
Nor grave nor bed denied,
Learned in bodily loneliness
And in the heart's pride.

"A woman can be proud and stiff
When on love intent;
But Love has pitched his mansion in
The place of excrement;
For nothing can be sole or whole
That has not been rent."

Composition:

Stanley Grill

Crazy Jane Sings

Text Authorship:

by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", appears in The Winding Stair, first published 1929

See other settings of this text.

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

GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Die verrückte Jane spricht mit dem Bischof", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "De narrische Jane sogds dem Bischof eihne", Viennese dialect, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-03
Line count: 18
Word count: 106

Die verrückte Jane spricht mit dem Bischof

(Sung text translation for setting by S. Grill)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Ich traf den Bischof auf der Straß',
Viel sprachen ich und er:
"Die Adern trocknen Dir ja schon,
Die Brüste hängen leer;
Drum leb' Du in der Kirche Haus
Und nicht im Schweinsstall mehr!"

Ich schrie: "Das Reine braucht den Dreck,
Die beiden sind verwandt.
Die Freund' sind weg, doch Wahrheit ist's,
Wohl Grab, wohl Bett bekannt,
Aus Körpers Niedrigkeit erlernt
Und Herzensstolz erkannt.

"Ein Weib kann stolz und steifer stehn,
Wenn Liebe in ihr brennt;
Doch Liebe hat ihr Haus gebaut
Im Grund von Exkrement;
Und nichts kann ganz und einig sein,
Es sei denn erst getrennt."

Text Authorship:

Singable translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
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Based on:

a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", appears in The Winding Stair, first published 1929
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This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 98