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by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843)
Translation © by Stéphane Goldet, Pierre de Rosamel

Die Jugend
 (Sung text for setting by B. Britten)
 See base text
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
Da ich ein Knabe war,
rettet' ein Gott mich oft
vom Geschrei und der Rufe der Menschen,
da spielt' ich sicher und gut
mit den Blumen des Hains,
und die Lüftchen des Himmels
spielten mit mir.

Und wie du das Herz
der Planzen erfreust,
wenn sie entgegen dir
die zarten Arme strecken,
so hast du mein Herz erfreut,
Vater Helios!
und, wie Endymion,
war ich dein Liebling,
heilige Luna!

O all ihr Treuen
freundlichen Götter!
Daß ihr wüßtet,
wie euch meine Seele geliebt!

 ... 

Doch kannt' ich euch besser,
Als ich je die Menschen gekannt
Ich verstand die Stille des Aethers
Der Menschen Worte verstand ich nie.

Mich erzog der Wohllaut
des säuselnden Hains,
und lieben lernt' ich
unter den Blumen.

Im Arme der Götter wuchs ich groß.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3, 5-7 of the original text.

Composition:

    Set to music by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Die Jugend", op. 61 no. 4, published 1963, stanzas 1-3, 5-7, from Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente, no. 4

Text Authorship:

  • by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Da ich ein Knabe war", appears in Gedichte 1784-1800

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La joventut", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The youth", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 33
Word count: 150

La jeunesse
 (Sung text translation for setting by B. Britten)
 See original
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Quand j’étais enfant
un dieu m’a plusieurs fois  protégé
des cris et des clameurs des hommes,
je pouvais alors jouer tranquillement
avec les fleurs des champs,
et les brises légères du ciel
jouaient avec moi.

Et, de même que tu jouis
au milieu des fleurs
quand elles tendent vers toi
leurs tendres tiges,
de même tu as réjoui mon cœur,
Soleil tutélaire ! 
Et, tel Endymion,
j’ai été ton amant
Lune sacrée !

Ô que vous êtes fidèles, 
dieux bienveillants !
Mesurez bien
à quel point mon âme vous a aimés !

 ... 

J’ai grandi dans les bras des dieux.

 ... 

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3, 5-7 of the original text.

Translation of title: "Die Jugend" = "La jeunesse"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Stéphane Goldet and Pierre de Rosamel, (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 Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Da ich ein Knabe war", appears in Gedichte 1784-1800
    • Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website: 2014-11-14
Line count: 25
Word count: 111

Gentle Reminder

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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