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Goldbrown upon the sated flood The rockvine clusters lift and sway. Vast wings above the lambent waters brood Of sullen day. A waste of waters ruthlessly Sways and uplifts its weedy mane Where brooding day stares down upon the sea In dull disdain. Uplift and sway, O golden vine, Your clustered fruits to love's full flood, Lambent and vast and ruthless as is thine Incertitude!
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Poetry, May 1917Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "Flood", written 1915, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 8 [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 Lorne M. Betts (b. 1918), "Goldbrown upon the sated flood", 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs (1952) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983), "Flood", c1931, published 1933, first performed 1932 [ voice and piano ], from The Joyce Book, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Inondation", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 65
Goldbraun auf selbstzufriedener Flut wiegen sich wogend Tangbüschel wie Reben. Gewaltige Schwingen über leckenden Wassern brüten über düsterem Tag. Ohn’ Mitleid wirft des Wassers Übermaß die Büschelmähnen hoch und wiegt sie - hin und her, wobei ein trüber Tag herabstarrt aufs Meer, verhangen, verächtlich. Schwingt euch empor, ihr goldenen Reben und wiegt eure Trauben in der Liebe überströmenden Flut, leckend, gewaltig und mitleidlos wie dein Zaudern und Zagen!
About the headline (FAQ)
Title: "Flood" = "Flut"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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Based on:
- a text in English by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "Flood", written 1915, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 8
This text was added to the website: 2014-09-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 68