Undine | Born deep within the water-spring

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by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Undine

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Im Quelle tief geboren,
ein Kind aus fremder Welt,
mit den kristallnen Augen
bin ich euch zugesellt.
 
Ich habe keine Seele,
ich bin von Tränen leer,
ich gehe nur so immer
und immer nebenher.
 
Es sind mir die Gewänder
noch immer schwer und naß,
es tropft mir gar vom Kranze,
ich bin noch immer blaß.
 
Ich will euch allen dienen
um Wasser, nicht um Wein;
ihr denkt, es seien Schmerzen;
es werden Wonnen sein.
 
Die zarte Haut wird springen,
die Glieder welken hin;
und niemand wird es wissen,
wie schlimm und kühl ich bin.

Confirmed with Nachgelassene Schriften von Walter Calé. Mit einem Vorwort von Fritz Mauthner, herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Arthur Brückmann, Dritte Auflage, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1910, page 84

Text Authorship:

by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), "Undine", appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Lieder (1902-1903) [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 Julius Weismann (1879 - 1950), "Undine", op. 81 (Neun Lieder) no. 8 (1917/21) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Undine", 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: 2016-06-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 94

Undine

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Born deep within the water-spring,
the child of a foreign world,
with crystalline eyes
I have joined you.
 
I have no soul,
I am void of tears;
always I only walk thus
and always alongside you.
 
My garments are still
heavy and damp,
drops even fall from my wreath,
I am still pale.
 
I wish to serve you all
with water, not with wine;
you think these are pains;
they shall be joys.
 
The delicate skin shall split,
the limbs shall wilt away;
and no one shall know
how evil and cold I am.

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 Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), "Undine", appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Lieder (1902-1903)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-06-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 94