Consolation | Combien d'années vécues

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Trost

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Wie viel gelebte Jahre
Sind hin und hatten keinen Sinn,
Nichts, das ich mir bewahre,
Nichts, des ich fröhlich bin!

Unendliche Gestalten
Hat mir der Strom heran gerollt;
Ich durfte keine halten,
Es blieb mir keine hold.

Doch ob sie mir entgleiten,
Mein Herz fühlt tief und rätselhaft
Weit über alle Zeiten
Des Lebens Leidenschaft.

Die hat nicht Sinn noch Ziele,
Weiß alles nah und alles weit
Und macht, ein Kind im Spiele,
Den Augenblick zur Ewigkeit.

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, pages 165-166.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Trost", written 1908 [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 Adolf Pfanner (1897 - 1987), "Trost", published 1950 [ TBarB chours a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Herbert Schweikert (b. 1927), "Trost", published 1959 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], from Licht und Trost, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Comfort", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Consolation", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-04
Line count: 16
Word count: 77

Consolation

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

Combien d'années vécues
Sont passées et n'eurent aucun sens,
Rien que je puisse conserver,
Rien dont je suis joyeux 

Ce sont des choses sans nombre
Qu'un fleuve a roulé vers moi ;
Je ne pus en retenir aucune,
Il ne m'en reste rien de favorable.

Pourtant, même si elles m'ont échappé,
Mon cœur, profondément et mystérieusement,
Ressentit au cours de tout ce temps
Une passion de la vie.

Celle-ci n' a ni sens ni but,
Elle connaît toute chose, proche ou lointaine,
Et comme un enfant qui joue,
Elle change l'instant en éternité.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2019 by Pierre Mathé, (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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Trost", written 1908
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-12-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 92