Melancholy | Bluish shadows. O you dark eyes

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by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Melancholie

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

Bläuliche Schatten. O ihr dunklen Augen,
Die lang mich anschaun im Vorübergleiten.
Gitarrenklänge sanft den Herbst begleiten
Im Garten, aufgelöst in braunen Laugen.
Des Todes ernste Düsternis bereiten
Nymphische Hände, an roten Brüsten saugen
Verfallne Lippen und in schwarzen Laugen
Des Sonnen Jünglings feuchte Locken gleiten.

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Melancholie", appears in Gedichte 1909 -1913 [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 François Glorieux , "Melancholie", published 1967, from Traklgedichte, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "Melancholy", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mélancolie", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Melanconia", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-15
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

Melancholy

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Bluish shadows. O you dark eyes,
giving a long look to me when passing by.
Sounds of guitars softly accompany autumn
in the garden, dissolved in brownish lyes.
Death's solemn somberness prepared
by nymphish hands; addicted lips
sucking at red breasts and in black lyes
we see Helios’s moist curls gliding.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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), "Melancholie", appears in Gedichte 1909 -1913
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-11-28
Line count: 8
Word count: 51