by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Seifenblasen
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Es destilliert aus Studien und Gedanken
Vielvieler Jahre spät ein alter Mann
Sein Alterswerk, in dessen krause Ranken
Er spielend manche süße Weisheit spann.

Hinstürmt voll Glut ein eifriger Student,
Der sich in Büchereinen und Archiven
Viel umgetan und den der Ehrgeiz brennt,
Ein Jugendwerk voll genialischer Tiefen.

Es sitzt und bläst ein Knabe in den Halm,
Er füllt mit Atem farbige Seifenblasen,
Und jede prunkt und lobpreist wie ein Psalm,
All seine Seele gibt er hin im Blasen.

Und alle drei, Greis, Knabe und Student,
Erschaffen aus dem Maya-Schaum der Welten
Zaubrische Träume, die an sich nichts gelten,
In welchen aber lächelnd sich erkennt
Das ewige Licht, und freudiger entbrennt.

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 336.


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Soap bubbles", copyright © 2018, (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: 2009-05-20
Line count: 17
Word count: 111

Soap bubbles
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
At long last, an old man distills from the researches
And thoughts of many, many years
His late work, in the curly vines of which
He playfully spun many a sweet wisdom.

A diligent student, full of fervour, who has delved about
Considerably in book shops and archives,
And who burns with ambition, stormily 
Produces a youthful work full of genial depths.

A young lad sits and blows upon a blade of grass,
With his breath he fills colourful soap bubbles,
And every one is as resplendent and full of praise as a psalm,
And he pours forth his whole soul in blowing.

And all three, aged man, young lad and student
From the Maya-foam of the worlds create
Magical dreams, which in and of themselves are nothing,
In which, however, smilingly the eternal light
Recognizes itself and flares up more joyfully.

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.
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This text was added to the website: 2018-05-15
Line count: 17
Word count: 142