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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Karl Joachim ("Achim") Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (1781 - 1831)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der Kaiser flieht vertrieben
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
   Der Kaiser flieht vertrieben,
Flieht das eigne Land;
Das Heer ist aufgerieben,
Fliehend seine Schand.
Nur Die sind ihm geblieben,
Die er oft verkannt,
Denn streng sind, die uns lieben,
Noth hat Lieb erkannt,
Er grüßt die alten Tage
Seiner Jugendzeit,
Vergißt [der Zeiten]1 Plage
In Vertraulichkeit.
[...]
 
   Zum Fluß ist er gekommen,
Findet keine Brück,
Da wird sein Herz beklommen,
Er kann nicht zurück.
Da kommt ein Schiff mit Netzen:
"Schiffer[,] nimm zum Lohn,
Willst Du uns übersetzen,
Meine goldne Kron."
Der Schiffer hat genommen
Seine goldne Kron,
Doch eh' er [über kommen]2,
War der Feind dort schon.
[...]
 
   "So lieb dir ist dein Leben,
Fahr zurück an's Land,
Den Schifflohn will ich geben
Mit der eignen Hand."
Der Kaiser droht zu schlagen
Mit dem goldnen Stab,
Doch schnell zurückgetragen,
Ihn dem Schiffer gab.
Jetzt sah er, wie die Feinde
Ihn am Ufer sehn,
An Freundes Busen weinte,
Wollte schier vergehn.
[...]
 
   "Ich hab nichts mehr zu geben,
Als den Mantel mein,
Der giebt mir Noth im Leben,
Bald auch Todespein:
War meiner Noth Beglücken
Eurer Tage Preis,
Den Purpur reißt in Stücken,
Geb ihn allen Preis!"
Er faßt soviel er konnte,
Jeder riß sein Stück,
Es auf dem Herzen sonnte,
Wie ein Stern im Glück.
[...]
 
   Die Stücke heften Alle
Auf die Kleider fest,
Und vor den Feind mit Schalle
Halten Ordensfest.
Dann stellen sie sich Alle
Rings zum Kaiser treu,
Daß er von einem Walle
Rings geschützet sei.
Der Purpurstern kann blitzen,
Wärmt auch wohl das Herz,
Kann nicht als Harnish schützen
Vor der Pfeile Erz.
[...]
 
   "Jetzt flieht!" befiehlt der Kaiser,
"Flieht, ich sterb allein!"
Sie rufen All' zum Kaiser:
"Das soll nimmer sein,
Der Purpur ist zerrissen,
Aus ist nun Dein Reich,
Vor Gott wir stehen müssen
Bald mit Dir zugleich.
Wir wollen hiee [sic] vergehen,
Froh des ew'gen Muths;
Aus unserm Blut erstehen
Rächer Deines Bluts."
[...]

   Die Feinde sehn sie blicken,
Sehn die Sterne hell,
Und ihre Pfeile drücken
In die Herzen schnell,
Nach aller Edlen Falle,
Fällt der Kaiser auch,
Sein Segen über Alle
Ist sein letzter Hauch.
Die blutigen Purpurstücke
Halten frisch die Farb',
Der Feind ist groß im Glücke,
Nicht den Schmuck verdarb.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   B. Arnim 

B. Arnim sets stanzas 1-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Armuth, Reichthum, Schuld und Buße der Gräfin Dolores- eine wahre Geschichte zur lehrreichen Unterhaltung armer Fräulein aufgeschrieben von Ludwig Achim v. Arnim, herausgegeben von Wilhelm Grimm, Zweiter Band, Berlin: bei Veit & Comp., 1840, pages 425-428. Note: the stanzas of the poem are separated by prose in the novel, indicated by "[...]"

1 B. von Arnim: "die alte"
2 B. von Arnim: "überkommen"

Text Authorship:

  • by Karl Joachim ("Achim") Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (1781 - 1831), no title, appears in Armuth, Reichthum, Schuld und Buße der Gräfin Dolores [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 Bettina von Arnim, née Brentano (1785 - 1859), "Romanze", stanzas 1-3 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 90
Word count: 367

Banished, the emperor flees
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
  Banished, the emperor flees,
Flees his own land;
The army has been worn down,
It flees his ignominy.
Only those are left to him
Whom he often underrated,
For severe are those who love us,
[But] adversity has recognized love.
He greets the old days
Of his youth,
He forgets [former vexation]1
In familiarity.
[...]
 
   He has come to the river,
[And] finds no bridge.
His heart becomes anxious,
He cannot turn back.
Along comes a boat with nets:
"Boatman[,] receive in payment
My golden crown
If you would take us across."
The boatman took
His golden crown,
But before [the emperor] reached the other shore
The enemy was already there.
[...] 
 
   "As truly as you value your life,
Go back to the shore,
The payment for the boat journey
I shall give [back] with my own hand."
The emperor threatens to beat him
With the golden staff,
But, carried back quickly,
Gave [the staff] to the boatman.
Now he saw how the enemies
Spotted him on the shore,
Upon the bosom of his friend he wept,
Wanting to perish.
[...]
 
   "I have nothing more to give
Except this coat of mine,
It gives me adversity in life,
Soon as well the agony of death:
If the alleviation of my distress
Was the glory of your days,
Tear the crimson into pieces,
Give it up to all!"
He grasped as much as he could,
Everyone tore off his piece of cloth,
And displayed it upon his heart
Like a star of good fortune.
[...]
 
   Everyone fastened the pieces
Firmly upon their garments,
And in view of their enemies they
Resoundingly celebrated a conferring of orders.
Then all of them arranged themselves
Faithfully about their emperor,
So that he was protected
By a wall of men.
The crimson star can flash,
Can even warm the heart,
But from the bronze of the arrows
It cannot protect one like armour.
[...]
 
   "Now flee!" commands the emperor,
"Flee, I die alone!"
They all call out to the emperor:
"That shall never be,
The crimson is torn,
It is all over for your kingdom,
Before God we must all withal
Stand with you.
We shall perish here,
Rejoicing in eternal courage;
From our blood shall arise
Those who avenge your blood."
[...]
 
   The enemies see them watching,
See the bright stars,
And their arrows quickly
Penetrate into their hearts;
After all the noblemen have fallen,
The emperor falls too,
His last utterance is
A blessing over all of them.
The bloody crimson pieces
Hold their colour boldly,
The enemies, magnanimous in their victory,
Did not deface the adornment.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Translation of title "Romanza" = "Romance"

1 B. von Arnim: "the old vexation"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Karl Joachim ("Achim") Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (1781 - 1831), no title, appears in Armuth, Reichthum, Schuld und Buße der Gräfin Dolores
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-05-18
Line count: 90
Word count: 436

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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!
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