The ladder still remained standing under the fig tree

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by Berthold Viertel (1885 - 1953)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

L'automne californien

(Sung text for setting by H. Eisler)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Die Leiter blieb noch unterm Feigenbaume stehen,
Doch er ist gelb und schon längst leergegessen
Von Schnäbeln und von Mündern, wem's zuerst geglückt.
 
Wird ihn der nächste Sommer grün und reich beladen sehn,
Und kommt der Friede unterdessen,
Mag es ein andrer sein, der hier die Feigen pflückt.
 
Wir wären dann in kältere Breiten heimgegangen:
Da wächst kein Feigenbaum, Aber der Wein. 
Fällt dort der Schnee, 
Werden wir umso frischer sein 
Und gern im wieder befreiten Winter wohnen.

Composition:

Hanns Eisler

Hollywooder Liederbuch

Text Authorship:

by Berthold Viertel (1885 - 1953), "Kalifornischer Herbst", appears in Der Lebenslauf. Gedichte, in Gefährten im Exil

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Auditorium du Louvre , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 101

Californian autumn

(Sung text translation for setting by H. Eisler)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The ladder still remained standing under the fig tree,
But the tree is yellow and all its figs have long been consumed
By beaks and mouths, whoever was fortunate enough to get them first.
 
If the next summer sees it green and richly laden,
And if peace comes in the meantime,
It may be someone else who picks the figs here.
 
We would then have returned home to colder regions:
There no fig tree grows,  But grapevines do. /
If snow falls there, 
We shall be all the more alive 
And shall live gladly in the winter that has been liberated once again.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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 Berthold Viertel (1885 - 1953), "Kalifornischer Herbst", appears in Der Lebenslauf. Gedichte, in Gefährten im Exil
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2016-09-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 118