I live my life in growing orbits | I live my life in growing orbits

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Translation © by Robert Bly (b. 1926)

Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen,
die sich über die Dinge ziehn.
Ich werde den letzten vielleicht nicht vollbringen,
aber versuchen will ich ihn.

Ich kreise um Gott, um den uralten Turm,
und ich kreise jahrtausendelang;
und ich weiß noch nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm
oder ein großer Gesang.

T. Lukasheva sets stanza 2

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Werke, kommentierte Ausgabe in vier Bänden, Band 1 Gedichte 1895 bis 1910, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel und Ulrich Fülleborn, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1996, page 157.

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 2, first published 1905

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Walter A. Aue) , "I'm living my life in spiraling gyres", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Je vis ma vie en cercles croissants", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-05-19
Line count: 8
Word count: 52

I live my life in growing orbits

(Sung text for setting by M. Rose)

Matches original text

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I live my life in growing orbits,
which move out over the things of the world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt. 

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for a thousand years.
And I still don't know if I am a falcon,
Or a storm, or a great song.

Permission granted for use by the Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive stemming from agreement on recording between Mark Abel and Harper and Row.

Composition:

Michael Alec Rose

Five Songs for High Voice and Piano

Text Authorship:

by Robert Bly (b. 1926), "I live my life in growing orbits", appears in Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, first published 1981, copyright © 1981 by Harper and Row, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 2, first published 1905
- Go to the text page.

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this page: Michael Alec Rose Rose

This text was added to the website: 2010-02-04
Line count: 8
Word count: 64