Der kranke Ritter
Language: German (Deutsch)
"Da draußen hallen die Schilde,
Da draußen wiehert es hell,
Die Kämpfer sind hart an einander;
Ihr Knappen waffnet mich schnell!
Was steht Ihr, und weilet so trübe?
Zu Sattel, und d'rauf und d'ran! --
Ach Gott, ich hatt' es vergessen;
Ich bin ein verwundeter Mann.
Die Pfeileschauer sie trafen
Die Schulter und auch die Brust;
Her kommt der Tod mir gezogen,
Und hin mir welket die Lust.
Und wär' nur der Tod gekommen
Nach seiner gestrengen Pflicht,
Da schlief ich still bey den Ahnen,
Bis an das ewige Licht.
So muß ich leben, ach leben,
Ohn' adlige Waffenzier,
Und fernhin brauset der Schlachtlärm,
Und fraget nicht fürder nach mir.
Still neben mir sitzt mein Falke,
Weil nicht mehr jagen er kann,
Hat auch einen Pfeil im Flügel,
Und sieht so trübe mich an.["]
Confirmed with Gedichte von Fridr. Baron de la Motte-Fouqué, Dritter Theil, Neueste Auflage, Wien: Bey B. Ph. Bauer, 1819 , pages 56-57
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The ailing knight", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2015-12-13
Line count: 24
Word count: 133
The ailing knight
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
"Out there the shields are clanging,
Out there is bright whinnying,
The warriors are locked in hard battle;
You knaves, bring me my weapons quickly!
Why do you stand and tarry so dully?
To the saddle, and up and at them! --
Ah God, I had forgotten;
I am a wounded man.
The shower of arrows struck
My shoulder and also my breast;
Death is approaching me,
And my passion [for life] is withering.
And if death had only come
According to its stern duty,
Then I would be slumbering quietly with my ancestors
Until the dawning of the eternal light.
Instead I must live, ah live,
Without the noble adornment of arms,
And faraway roars the sound of the battle,
And no longer cares about me.
Quietly beside me sits my falcon,
Because he can no longer hunt;
He, too, has an arrow in his wing,
And gazes at me so drearily.["]
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:
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-13
Line count: 24
Word count: 152