Village churchyard | You lie so close together

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Dorfkirchhof

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

So nahe lieget ihr beisammen
In eurem Garten, stille Schar.
Von eures Lebens grellen Flammen
Loht keine mehr. Das Glockenläuten
Will euch nicht Leid noch Lust bedeuten,
Noch Anklang dessen, was einst war.

Euch ist genug, dass in den Lüften
Hoch über euch der Flieder blüht
Und Sommernachts mit warmen Düften
Ob eurer Stätte festlich glüht.
Was noch in euch als Kraft, Begierde
Und unerlöster Drang gelebt,
Ist nun erlöst und frei und schwebt
Im Duft dahin als Spiel und Zierde.

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 154.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Dorfkirchhof", 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 Heinrich Pestalozzi (1878 - 1940), "Dorfkirchhof", published 1923 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Christian Immo Schneider (b. 1935), "Dorfkirchhof", op. 36 no. 7 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sieben Nacht- und Todeslieder für mittlere Singstimme und Klavier nach Gedichten von Hermann Hesse, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El cementiri del poble", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Village churchyard", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Cimetière de village", 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: 2009-05-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 81

Village churchyard

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

You lie so close together
In your garden, you silent throng.
None of the lurid flames of your life
Blazes any longer. The bells’ tolling
Means neither sorrow nor joy to you,
Nor an echo of that which once was.

For you it is enough that in the breezes
High above you the lilac blooms
And on summer nights with warm scents 
Glows festively above your resting place.
What yet lived within you as power, desire,
And unredeemed urging,
Is now redeemed and free and wafts
Away in scent as play and adornment.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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), "Dorfkirchhof", written 1908
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-03-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 93