Lesson | More or less, my dear boy

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Belehrung

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG

Mehr oder weniger, mein lieber Knabe,
Sind schließlich alle Menschenworte Schwindel,
Verhältnismäßig sind wir in der Windel
Am ehrlichsten, und später dann im Grabe.

Dann legen wir uns zu den Vätern nieder,
Sind endlich weise und voll kühler Klarheit,
Mit blanken Knochen klappern wir die Wahrheit,
Und mancher lög und lebte lieber wieder.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 291.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Belehrung", written 1927, appears in Verse im Krankenbett, no. 3 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Bertold Hummel (1925 - 2002), "Belehrung", op. 108 no. 6 (2002), published 2004 [ medium voice and piano ], from Kopflos – Liederzyklus nach skurrilen Gedichten von Hermann Hesse für mittlere Stimme und Klavier, no. 6, Schott Music [sung text checked 1 time]
by Alfred Toepler (1888 - 1969), "Belehrung", published 1958 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], from Fünf Sprüche für Männerchor a cappella, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by F. Willi , "Belehrung" [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Alliçonament", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Lesson", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-06-14
Line count: 8
Word count: 53

Lesson

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

More or less, my dear boy,
All human utterances are ultimately deception.
Comparatively, in our diapers we are
The most honest, and later then in the grave.

Then we lay ourselves down amongst our fathers,
Are finally wise and full of cold clarity,
With bare bones we rattle out the truth,
And many a one would rather lie and live again.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Belehrung", written 1927, appears in Verse im Krankenbett, no. 3
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-02-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 61