The old, grey king sits

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by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 - 1862)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der alte, graue König sitzt

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Der alte, graue König sitzt
Auf seiner Väter Throne;
Sein Mantel glänzt wie Abendrot,
Wie sinkende [Sonn']¹ die Krone.

"Mein erster und mein zweiter Sohn!
Euch teil ich meine Lande.
Mein dritter Sohn, mein liebstes Kind!
Was laß ich dir zum Pfande?"

"Gib mir von allen Schätzen nur
Die alte, [rostige]² Krone!
Gib mir drei Schiffe! so fahr ich hin
Und suche nach einem Throne."

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Schumann

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View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Schumann: "Sonne"
² Schumann: "rost'ge"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 - 1862), no title, appears in Der Königssohn, no. 1 [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 Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der alte, graue König sitzt", op. 116 no. 1 (1851), published 1853 [ soli, chorus and orchestra ], from Der Königssohn, no. 1, Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-01-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 67

The old, grey king sits

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The old, grey king sits
Upon the throne of his fathers;
His robe glows like a sunset,
The crown like a sinking sun.
 
"My firstborn and my second son!
I divide my lands between you.
My third son, my most beloved child!
What shall I pledge to you?"
 
"Give me of all your treasures only
The old, rusty crown!
Give me three ships and I shall fare forth
And search for a throne."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Ludwig Uhland (1787 - 1862), no title, appears in Der Königssohn, no. 1
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-04-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 73