Nearness of Death | O the evening that walks into the gloomy villages of childhood

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by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Nähe des Todes

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

O der Abend, der in die finsteren Dörfer der Kindheit geht.
Der Weiher unter den Weiden
Füllt sich mit den verpesteten Seufzern der Schwermut.
 
O der Wald, der leise die braunen Augen senkt,
Da aus des Einsamen knöchernen Händen
Der Purpur seiner verzückten Tage hinsinkt.
 
O die Nähe des Todes. Laß uns beten.
In dieser Nacht lösen auf lauen Kissen
Vergilbt von Weihrauch sich der Liebenden schmächtige Glieder.

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Nähe des Todes", appears in Rosenkranzlieder, no. 2, 2nd version [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), "Nähe des Todes", op. 9 no. 2 (1972) [ soprano, clarinet in Bb, viola, and piano ], from Rosenkranz Lieder, no. 2, London, Faber [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "Nearness of Death", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Proximité de la mort", 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: 68

Nearness of Death

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

O the evening that walks into the gloomy villages of childhood. 
The pond under the willows 
fills up with the tainted sighs of gloom. 

O the forest that softly lowers its brown gaze, 
when from the lonely one's bony hands 
the purple of his entranced days sinks. 

O the nearness of death. Let us pray. 
During this night on balmy pillows,
yellowed by incense, the slender limbs of the lovers slacken.

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
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Nähe des Todes", appears in Rosenkranzlieder, no. 2, 2nd version
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-09-07
Line count: 9
Word count: 71