Si fort que la main tient la pierre

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by Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

So fest wie die Hand den Stein hält

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

So fest wie die Hand den Stein hält.
Sie hält ihn aber fest,
nur um ihn desto weiter zu verwerfen.
Aber auch in jene Weite führt der Weg.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924) [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 (Peter) Alexander Goehr (b. 1932), "So fest wie die Hand", op. 41 no. 5 (1979) [ voice and piano ], from Das Gesetz der Quadrille, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by György Kurtág (b. 1926), "So fest", op. 24 no. 3h (1985-6) [ soprano and violin ], from Kafka-Fragmente, no. 3h [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-14
Line count: 4
Word count: 28

Si fort que la main tient la pierre

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Si fort que la main tient la pierre.
Elle la tient si fort
seulement pour l'envoyer aussi loin qu'elle peut.
Mais même à cette distance elle montre le chemin.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"So fest wie die Hand" = "Si fort que la main"
"So fest" = "Si fort"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-12-15
Line count: 4
Word count: 29