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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Herr, du kommst und gehst
 (Sung text for setting by H. Große-Schware)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Du kommst und gehst. Die Türen fallen 
Viel sanfter zu, fast ohne Wehn.
Du bist der Leiseste von allen,
die durch die leisen Häuser gehen.

Man kann sich so an dich gewöhnen,
dass man nicht aus dem Fenster schaut,
wenn seine Bilder sich verschönen,

von deinem Schatten überblaut;
 ... 

Oft wenn ich dich in Sinnen sehe,
verteilt sich deine Allgestalt:
du gehst wie lauter lichte Rehe.
und ich bin dunkel und bin Wald.

Du bist ein Rad, an dem ich stehe:
von deinen vielen dunklen Achsen
wird immer wieder eine schwer
und dreht sich näher zu mir her,

und meine willigen Werke wachsen
von Wiederkehr zu Wiederkehr.

Composition:

    Set to music by Hermann Große-Schware (b. 1931), "Herr, du kommst und gehst", 2005 [ mixed chorus ]

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Du kommst und gehst", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 45, first published 1905

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Linda Godry) , "You come and go", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Tu vas et viens", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Linda Godry

This text was added to the website: 2007-06-25
Line count: 20
Word count: 120

Tu vas et viens
 (Sung text translation for setting by H. Große-Schware)
 See original
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Tu vas et viens. Les portes se ferment
bien plus doucement, presque sans un souffle.
Tu es le plus léger de tous ceux
qui passent dans les maisons silencieuses.

On peut ainsi s'habituer à toi
car on ne lève pas les yeux vers la fenêtre
quand ses images s'embellissent,

teintées de ton ombre bleue ;
 ...  

Souvent, lorsque je te vois en pensée,
ta figure se partage :
tu avances comme un chevreuil de pure lumière,
et je suis sombre, et je suis forêt.

Tu es une roue près de laquelle je suis :
parmi tous tes sombres essieux
il y en aura toujours un lourd
qui tournera plus près de moi,

et mes travaux obéissants s'accroissent
à chaque tour de roue.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Pierre Mathé, (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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Du kommst und gehst", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 45, first published 1905
    • Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website: 2013-01-22
Line count: 20
Word count: 132

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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