Though everything be deception and delusion | Though everything be deception and delusion

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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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.

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ist auch alles Trug und Wahn

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG

Ist auch alles Trug und Wahn
Und die Wahrheit stehts unnennbar,
Dennoch blickt der Berg mich an
Zackig und genau erkennbar.

Hirsch und Rabe, rote Rose,
Meeresblau und bunte Welt:
Sammle dich - und sie zerfällt
Ins Gestalt- und Namenlose.

Sammle dich und kehre ein,
Lerne schauen, lerne lesen!
Sammle dich - und Welt wird Schein.
Sammle dich - und Schein wird Wesen.

About the headline (FAQ)

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 394.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), no title, written 1961, appears in Junger Novize im Zen-Kloster, no. 2 [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 Franz Krause (b. 1889), "Ist auch alles Trug und Wahn", op. 46 no. 6, published 1967 [ voice and piano ], from Zehn Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Encara que tot sigui engany i il·lusió", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Though everything be deception and delusion", 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: 12
Word count: 60

Though everything be deception and delusion

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Though everything be deception and delusion
And truth be ever unnameable,
Nevertheless, the mountain gazes at me,
Jagged and precisely perceptible.

Deer and raven, red rose,
The blue of the sea and the colourful world:
Collect yourself - and it collapses
Into that which is formless and nameless.

Collect yourself and turn inward,
Learn to observe, learn to read!
Collect yourself - and the world becomes illusion.
Collect yourself - and illusion becomes being.

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), no title, written 1961, appears in Junger Novize im Zen-Kloster, no. 2
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-12-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 71