How do I lament it forth

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by Johann Chrysostomos Senn (1795 - 1857)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schwanengesang

(Sung text for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FIN FRE

»Wie klag' ich's aus
Das Sterbegefühl,
Das auflösend
Durch die Glieder rinnt?

Wie sing' ich's aus
Das Werdegefühl,
Das erlösend
Dich, o Geist, anweht?«

Er klagt', er sang
Vernichtungsbang,
Verklärungsfroh,
Bis das Leben floh.

Das bedeutet des Schwanen Gesang!

Note: Schubert received Senn's poem in handwritten form. Senn issued it later in the book mentioned above, with the footnote In Musik gesetzt von Fr. Schubert.

Composition:

Franz Peter Schubert

Text Authorship:

by Johann Chrysostomos Senn (1795 - 1857), "Schwanenlied"

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Aleksi Reunanen) , "Joutsenlaulu", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chant du cygne", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Richard Morris , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 41

The singing of the swan

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Schubert)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

"How do I lament it forth,
This feeling of dying,
Which disintegratingly
Runs through my limbs?

How do I sing it forth,
This feeling of becoming,
Which redeemingly
Wafts, oh spirit, toward you?"

It lamented, it sang
Fearful of annihilation,
Glad of transfiguration,
Until life fled.

That is the meaning of the swan’s singing!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Chrysostomos Senn (1795 - 1857), "Schwanenlied"
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This text was added to the website: 2017-05-02
Line count: 13
Word count: 52