by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Nun liegt die Welt in Scherben
See original
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: CAT ENG FRE
Nun liegt die Welt in Scherben,
Einst liebten wir sie sehr,
Nun hat für uns das Sterben
Nicht viele Schrecken mehr.
Man soll die Welt nicht schmähen,
Sie ist so bunt und wild,
Uralte Zauber wehen
Noch immer um ihr Bild.
Wir wollen dankbar scheiden
Aus ihrem großen Spiel;
Sie gab uns Lust und Leiden,
Sie gab uns Liebe viel.
Leb wohl, Frau Welt, und schmücke
Dich wieder jung und glatt,
Wir sind von deinem Glücke
Und deinem Jammer satt.
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Composition:
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Leb wohl, Frau Welt", written 1944
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Benoît Rivillon) (Jasmine Rivillon) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Sharon Krebs
[Senior Associate Editor]This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 81
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch)
Désormais notre Monde est en ruines,
autrefois tant aimé ;
Désormais pour nous la mort
Ne nous effraie plus guère.
Il ne faut pas mépriser notre Monde,
Si coloré et sauvage ;
Des enchantements ancestraux
Enveloppent toujours son image.
Nous nous tenons bien à distance
De sa grande roue ;
Qui nous prodigua joie et souffrance,
Qui nous prodigua tant d’amour.
Adieu, Madame Monde, et retrouve
Tes jeunes et frais atours,
Nous sommes de ton bonheur
Et de ta misère repus.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Benoît Rivillon and Jasmine Rivillon, (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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Leb wohl, Frau Welt", written 1944
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This text was added to the website: 2026-08-31
Line count: 16
Word count: 78