To the sister | Where you walk turns into autumn and eve

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by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

An die Schwester

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Wo Du gehst, wird Herbst und Abend. 
Blaues Wild, das unter Bäumen tönt. 
Einsamer Weiher am Abend.

Leise der Flug der Vögel tönt, 
Die Schwermut über Deinen Augenbogen. 
Dein schmales Lächeln tönt.

Gott hat Deine Lider verbogen. 
Sterne suchen nachts, Karfreitagskind, 
Deinen Stirnenbogen.

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "An die Schwester", appears in Rosenkranzlieder, no. 1 [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 Oliver Knussen, CBE (1952 - 2018), "An die Schwester", op. 9 no. 1 (1972) [ soprano, clarinet in Bb, viola, and piano ], from Rosenkranz Lieder, no. 1, London, Faber [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "To the sister", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "À la sœur", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-11-21
Line count: 9
Word count: 43

To the sister

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Where you walk turns into autumn and eve,
blue deer, that sounds under trees.
Lonely pond in the eve.

Softly the flight of the birds sounds,
the sadness over the arches of your eyes.
Your small smile sounds.

God has bent your lids.
Stars seek at night, Good Friday’s child,
the arch of your brow.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "An die Schwester", appears in Rosenkranzlieder, no. 1
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-09-07
Line count: 9
Word count: 55