Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Gewaltig bist du dunkler Mund Im Innern, aus Herbstgewölk Geformte Gestalt, Goldner Abendstille; Ein grünlich dämmernder Bergstrom In zerbrochner Föhren Schattenbezirk; Ein Dorf, Das fromm in braunen Bildern abstirbt. Da springen die schwarzen Pferde Auf nebliger Weide. Ihr Soldaten! Vom Hügel, wo sterbend die Sonne rollt Stürzt das lachende Blut Unter Eichen Sprachlos! O grollende Schwermut Des Heers; ein strahlender Helm Sank klirrend von purpurner Stirne. Herbstesnacht so kühle kommt Erglänzt mit Sternen Über zerbrochenem Männergebein Die stille Mönchin.
Authorship
- by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Die Schwermut", appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Gesang des Abgeschiedenen [author's text not yet checked 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 Stefan Heucke , "Die Schwermut", op. 1 no. 3 (1978/80) [high voice and string quintet], from Drei Gesänge nach Gedichten von Georg Trakl, no. 3. [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "Melancholia", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La mélancolie", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Malinconia", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-01-08
Line count: 22
Word count: 79
You are tremendous, you dark mouth inside, a figure formed from autumn clouds and golden quiet of the evening; a greenish dusking alpine stream in the shadowed space of broken pines; a village dying piously in yellowed pictures. Black horses leap on misty pastures. You soldiers! Downhill, where the sun rolls dying, the laughing blood descends speechless under oak trees! O grumbling gloom of the army; a flashing helmet fell rattling from a purple forehead. Autumn night comes down so coolly, gleaming with stars; over broken bones of men the silent monkess.
Translator's note: "Mönchin" is such a rare word in German that the similarly rare word "monkess" is used here instead of the more common "nun".
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
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Die Schwermut", appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Gesang des Abgeschiedenen
This text was added to the website: 2018-11-28
Line count: 22
Word count: 92