The mill-wheel | Covered with tar, the mill wheel turns

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by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Dränkt i tjära

Language: Swedish (Svenska)

Our translations: ENG FIN FRE

Dränkt i tjära 
kvarnhjulet går,
dufvorna leka i skummet.

Gamla hjulet, 
som stilla står,
har fått lemna rummet.

Öfvervuxet 
med vildros, nött,
urblekt af vind och af väder,

tänker det: 
»Nu är jag trött
gladde edra fäder!«

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Ernst Josephson, Svarta Rosor och Gula, Stockholm: C. & E. Gernandts Förlags Aktiebolag, 1901, page 258.

Text Authorship:

by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), no title, appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula, in Annas Sagor, no. 19 [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 Bo Linde (1933 - 1970), "Dränkt i tjära kvarnhjulet går", op. 2 no. 7 (1952) [ soprano and piano ], from Annas sagor, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Kvarnhjulet", op. 57 (8 sånger (Eight Songs)) no. 3 (1909) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The mill-wheel", copyright © 2019
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Myllynratas", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 37

The mill‑wheel

Language: English after the Swedish (Svenska)

Covered with tar, the mill wheel turns.
Pigeons are playing in its spray.
The old wheel, which stands motionless,
Has had to give way.

Overgrown with wild roses, worn,
Faded by wind and weather,
It thinks, "I'm tired now,
[But] in the past, I brought joy to your fathers."

Text Authorship:

Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2019 by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), no title, appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula, in Annas Sagor, no. 19
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-07-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 49