Last bit of happiness | Leaf upon leaf floats lifelessly

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by Max Kalbeck (1850 - 1921)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Letztes Glück

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE

Leblos gleitet Blatt um Blatt
Still und traurig von den Bäumen;
Seines Hoffens nimmer satt,
Lebt das Herz in Frühlingsträumen. 

Noch verweilt ein Sonnenblick
Bei den späten Hagerosen,
Wie bei einem letzten Glück,
Einem süßen, hoffnungslosen.

Text Authorship:

by Max Kalbeck (1850 - 1921) [author's text not yet checked 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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Letztes Glück", op. 104 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 3 (1888?), published 1888 [ saatbb chorus ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
by Gustav Hasse (1834 - 1889), "Letztes Glück", op. 32 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1880 [ alto or baritone and piano ], Berlin, Bote & Bock [sung text not yet checked]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Darrer resquitx de benaurança", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Laatst geluk", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Last bit of happiness", copyright © 2004
ENG English [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Last bliss", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Dernier bonheur", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Claus-Christian Schuster [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 36

Last bit of happiness

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 Leaf upon leaf floats lifelessly,
 quietly and sadly from the trees;
 its hopes never satisfied,
 the heart dwells in dreams of spring.

 Yet a sunny glance still lingers
 in the late-blooming rose bush,
 like one last bit of happiness -
 a sweet hopelessness.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2004 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 German (Deutsch) by Max Kalbeck (1850 - 1921)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2004-04-28
Line count: 8
Word count: 43