Words | Alone:/ you with the words

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by Gottfried Benn (1886 - 1956)

Translation © by John H. Campbell

Worte

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Allein:
du mit den Worten,
und das ist wirklich allein,
Clairons und Ehrenpforten
sind nicht in diesem Sein.

Du siehst
ihnen in die Seele
nach Vor- und Urgesicht,
Jahre um Jahre quäle dich ab,
du findest nicht.

Und drüben
brennen die Leuchten
in sanftem Menschenhort,
von Lippen, rosigen, feuchten
perlt unbedenklich das Wort.

Nur deine Jahre vergilben
in einem anderen Sinn,
bis in die Träume:
Silben --
doch schweigen gehest du hin.

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Text Authorship:

by Gottfried Benn (1886 - 1956), appears in Aprèslude, first published 1955 [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 Boris Blacher (1903 - 1975), "Worte", op. 57 no. 2, from Aprèslude, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (John H. Campbell) , "Words", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: John H. Campbell

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 71

Words

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Alone:
you with the words,
and that is true solitude,
Clarions and triumphal-arch
will not in this life be.

You see
into the soul
from before - and in the beginning,
Year after year you struggle on,
finding nothing.

And over there
in the warm light
of gentle human-comfort,
from moist, rosy, lips,
words uttered lovingly.

But your years turn yellow
in another manner,
until into dreams:
your words --
finally become silence.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by John H. Campbell, (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 German (Deutsch) by Gottfried Benn (1886 - 1956), appears in Aprèslude, first published 1955
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 71