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I am alone, in spite of love, In spite of all I take and give -- In spite of all your tenderness, Sometimes I am not glad to live. I am alone, as though I stood On the highest peak of the tired gray world, About me only swirling snow, Above me, endless space unfurled; With earth hidden and heaven hidden, And only my own spirit's pride To keep me from the peace of those Who are not lonely, having died.
Authorship
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "Alone", appears in Flame and Shadow, first published 1920 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Alone" [voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by Scott Gendel (b. 1977), "Alone", 2011 [voice and piano], from My Songs Do Not Belong To Me, no. 4. [text not verified]
- by Bain Murray (b. 1926), "Alone", published 1974 [soprano and piano], from Flame and Shadow [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Allein", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 80
Ich bin allein, trotz aller Liebe, allem, was ich nehm' und gebe - trotz deiner ganzen Zärtlichkeit freu ich mich manchmal nicht, zu leben. Ich bin allein als stünde ich am höchsten Punkt der müden grauen Welt, rings um mich nur noch Wirbelschnee und über mir - endlos das Himmelszelt. Seh' weder Erd' noch Himmel mehr, und nur mein eigner stolzer Geist hält mich noch fern vom Frieden der, die, nicht mehr einsam, schon vorausgereist.
Authorship
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 by Bertram Kottmann, (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.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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- a text in English by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "Alone", appears in Flame and Shadow, first published 1920
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 75