by
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Märzsonne
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Trunken von früher Glut
Taumelt ein gelber Falter.
Sitzend am Fenster ruht
Schläfrig gebückt ein Alter.
Singend durchs Frühlingslaub
Ist er einst ausgezogen.
So vieler Straßen Staub
hat sein Haar überflogen.
Zwar der blühende Baum
Und die Falter, die gelben
Scheinen gealtert kaum,
Scheinen heut noch dieselben.
Doch es sind Farbe und Duft
Dünner geworden und leerer,
Kühler das Licht und die Luft
Strenger zu atmen und schwerer.
Frühling summt bienenleis
Seine Gesänge, die holden.
Himmel schwingt blau und weiß,
Falter entflattern golden.
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, pages 381-382.
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) , "March sunshine", copyright © 2019, (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: 2009-05-06
Line count: 20
Word count: 83
March sunshine
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Intoxicated with the early glow,
A yellow butterfly reels about.
Sitting at the window, an old man
Rests, sleepily stooped.
Singing through the spring foliage
He once set forth.
The dust of so many streets
Has flown over his hair.
To be sure, the blossoming trees
And the butterflies, the yellow ones,
Hardly seem to have aged,
Seem still to be the same today.
But colour and scent
Have grown thinner and emptier,
Cooler the light and the air
Harsher to breathe and heavier.
As quietly as a bee, spring hums
Its songs, the lovely
Skies arch blue and white,
Butterflies flutter forth, golden.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Märzsonne", written 1948
This text was added to the website: 2019-02-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 104