Der Mann, den er erschoß | Wenn er und ich gesehn

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by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

Translation © by Walter A. Aue

The man he killed

(Sung text for setting by G. Baxter)

See original

Language: English

Our translations: GER

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet 
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

 ... 

He thought he'd enlist perhaps,
Offhand like - just as I -
Was out of work, had sold his traps,
No other reason why.

Yes, quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down 
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4-5 of the original text.

Composition:

Garth Baxter

The Battle Cry

Text Authorship:

by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, first published 1909

See other settings of this text.

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

GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Der Mann, den er erschoß", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Garth Baxter

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 115

Der Mann, den er erschoß

(Sung text translation for setting by G. Baxter)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Wenn er und ich gesehn
uns in der Schenke hier,
wir hätten uns zusammgesetzt,
getrunken Bier auf Bier.

Doch als Soldaten wir
uns gegenüberstehn.
Ich schieß auf ihn und er auf mich,
da war's um ihn geschehn.

 ... 

Vielleicht ging er zum Heer
nur so - und grad wie ich -
war arbeitslos - sein Sach verkauft -
nichts anders, sicherlich.

Ja, seltsam ist der Krieg!
Da schießt Du einen tot,
den Du ansonst bewirtet' und
geholfen aus der Not.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4-5 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Singable translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
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Based on:

a text in English by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, first published 1909
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This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 97