Can anyone tell me

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by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Quelqu'un peut‑il me dire

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Quelqu'un peut-il me dire 
jusqu'où va ma vie ?
Suis-je un souffle dans la tempête, 
une vague dans l'étang ?
N'est-ce pas moi-même, peut-être, 
Ce pâle et blanc bouleau, frissonnant de printemps ?

Text Authorship:

by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Raymond Loucheur (1899 - 1979), "Quelqu'un peut-il me dire", 1952-1957 [ mezzo-soprano and string quartet ], from 5 poèmes de Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Mario Versepuy (1881 - 1972), "Quelqu'un peut-il me dire" [ medium voice and piano ], from Quatre Poèmes de Rainer-Maria Rilke, no. 1, Éditions de la Revue Musicale [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2024-02-09
Line count: 6
Word count: 30

Can anyone tell me

Language: English after the French (Français)

Can anyone tell me 
how my life is going?
Am I a gust in the tempest, 
a wave in the lagoon?
Aren’t I, perhaps, 
this pale and white-barked birch tree, shivering in the spring air?

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2024 by Laura Prichard, (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 French (Français) by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946)
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-02-11
Line count: 6
Word count: 35