You are so far away

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by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Du bist so weit

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Du bist so weit.
So weit wie ein Stern, den ich zu fassen geglaubt.
Und doch bist du nah –
nur ein wenig verstaubt
wie vergangene Zeit.
Ja.

Du bist so groß.
So groß wie der Schatten von jenem Baum.
Und doch bist du da –
nur blaß wie ein Traum
in meinem Schoß.
Ja.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, Blütenlese. Gedichte, Herausgegeben von Adolf Rauchwerger, Tel Aviv: Telaviv University [Press], 1979, page 45.

Text Authorship:

by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942), "Ja", written 1941, appears in Blütenlese, in Der Blütenlese Erster Teil, in Nachtschatten [author's text checked 2 times 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 Dorothea Hofmann (b. 1961), "Du bist so weit", 2019, first performed 2021 [ voice and harp ], from „So weit wie ein Stern“. Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von Selma Merbaum, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2022-06-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 55

You are so far away

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

You are so far away,
As far away as a star that I believed I had grasped.
And yet you are near --
only a little dusty
like bygone times.
Yes.

You are so large.
As large as the shadow of yonder tree.
And yet you are here --
only as pale as a dream
in my lap.
Yes.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Du bist so weit" = "You are so far away"
"Ja" = "Yes"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924 - 1942), "Ja", written 1941, appears in Blütenlese, in Der Blütenlese Erster Teil, in Nachtschatten
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-06-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 57