The flame | Whether you go dancing in trumpery and trinkets

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Die Flamme

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Ob du tanzen gehst in Tand und Plunder,
Ob dein Herz sich wund in Sorgen müht,
Täglich neu erfährst du doch das Wunder,
Daß des Lebens Flamme in dir glüht.

Mancher läßt sie lodern und verprassen,
Trunken im verzückten Augenblick,
Andre geben sorglich und gelassen
Kind und Enkeln weiter ihr Geschick.

Doch verloren sind nur dessen Tage,
Den sein Weg durch dumpfe Dämmrung führt,
Der sich sättigt in des Tages Plage
Und des Lebens Flamme niemals spürt.

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 217.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Flamme", written 1910 [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 Christian Immo Schneider (b. 1935), "Die Flamme", 1980 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Carl Theodor) Oskar Ulmer (1883 - 1966), "Die Flamme", op. 34 no. 1 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Justus Hermann Wetzel (1879 - 1973), "Die Flamme ", op. 11 no. 13, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Zweiter Liederkreis - 15 Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 13 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La flama", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The flame", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La flamme", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 77

The flame

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Whether you go dancing in trumpery and trinkets,
Whether your heart wounds itself, labouring in anxieties,
Every day anew you [nevertheless] experience the wonder
That the flame of life glows within you.

Many a person lets it flare and dissipate,
Drunkenly in the ecstatic moment;
Others, caringly and serenely, pass on
Their fate to their children and grandchildren.

Lost, however, are only his days
Whose path leads through muffled twilight,
Who satiates himself with the vexations of the day
And never perceives the flame of life.

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), "Die Flamme", written 1910
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-10-21
Line count: 12
Word count: 86