Contradiction | When through bush and branch

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 Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Widerspruch

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Wenn ich durch Busch und Zweig
Brech' auf beschränktem Steig:
Wird mir so weit, so frei,
Will mir das Herz entzwei.
Rings dann im Waldeshaus
Rücken die Wänd' hinaus,
Wölbt sich das Laubgemach
Hoch mir zum Schwindeldach,
Webt sich der Blätter schier
Jedes zur Schwinge mir,
Daß sich mein Herz, so weit,
Sehnt nach Unendlichkeit!

Doch wann [in weitem]¹ Raum
Hoch am Gebirgessaum,
Ueber dem Thal' ich steh',
Nieder zum Thale seh'
Ach! wie beschränkt, wie eng
Wird mir's im Luftgedräng;
Rings auf mein Haupt, so schwer,
Nicken die Wolken her,
Niederzustürzen droht
Rings mir das Abendroth,
Und in ein Kämmerlein
Sehnt sich mein Herz hinein!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's Dichtungen. Erster Theil. Balladen, Romanzen, Sagen und Lieder, von Johann Gabriel Seidl. Wien. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger. 1826, pages 191-192; and with Joh. Gabr. Seidl's gesammelte Schriften. Mit einer Einleitung von Julius von der Traun. Herausgegeben von Hans Max. Erster Band. Wien, 1877. Wilhelm Braumüller k.k. Hof- und Universitätsbuchdrucker, pages 179-180.

¹ Schubert: "im weiten"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Widerspruch" [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 Benedikt Randhartinger (1802 - 1893), "Widerspruch", op. 18 (Vier Gedichte) no. 4 [ voice and piano ], Wien: Mechetti [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Widerspruch", op. 105 (Vier Lieder) no. 1, D 865 (1826?), published 1828, first performed 1828 [ ttbb chorus and piano ], Josef Czerny, VN 329, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Contradicció", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Tegenstrijdigheid", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Contradiction", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Contradiction", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 106

Contradiction

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When through bush and branch
I strike out for the narrow climb,
it becomes so wide for me - so free -
that my heart nearly bursts in two.
Around this forest house then
the walls recede
and a leafy chamber arches 
high above me, a roof of dizzying height.
Nearly every leaf is interwoven
into a wing for me,
so that my heart 
yearns deeply for infinity.

Yet when in wide spaces
high on the mountain edge,
over the valley I stand
and gaze toward it.
Oh, how restricted, how narrow,
it becomes for me in the oppressive air;
Around my head so heavy
the clouds nod down;
Threatening to crash down,
the sunset surrounds me;
and in a little chamber
does my heart long to be.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 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.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804 - 1875), "Widerspruch"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 126