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© by Paul Antschel (1920 - 1970), as Paul Celan
Translation by John Felstiner (1936 - 2017)

Black milk of daybreak we drink it at...
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Black milk of daybreak we drink it at evening
we drink it at midday and morning we drink it at night
we drink and we drink
we shovel a grave in the air where you won’t lie too cramped
A man lives in the house he plays with his vipers he writes
he writes when it grows dark to Deutschland your golden hair
Margareta
he writes it and steps out of doors and the stars are all sparkling he
whistles his hounds to stay close
he whistles his Jews into rows has them shovel a grave in the ground
he commands us play up for the dance

Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
we drink you at morning and midday we drink you at evening
we drink and we drink
A man lives in the house he plays with his vipers he writes
he writes when it grows dark to Deutschland your golden hair
Margareta
your ashen hair Shulamith we shovel a grave in the air

He shouts dig this earth deeper you lot there you others sing up and play
he grabs for the rod in his belt he swings it his eyes are so blue
stick your spades deeper you lot there you others play on for the dancing

Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
we drink you at midday and morning we drink you at evening
we drink and we drink
a man lives in the house your goldenes Haar Margareta
your aschenes Haar Sulamith he plays with his vipers

He shouts play death more sweetly this Death is a master from
Deutschland
he shouts scrape your strings darker you’ll rise up as smoke to the sky
you’ll then have a grave in the clouds where you won’t lie too cramped

Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
we drink you at midday Death is a master aus Deutschland
we drink you at evening and morning we drink and we drink
this Death is ein Meister aus Deutschland his eye it is blue
he shoots you with shot made of lead shoots you level and true
a man lives in the house your goldenes Haar Margarete
he looses his hounds on us grants us a grave in the air
he plays with his vipers and daydreams der Tod is ein Meister aus
Deutschland

dein goldenes Haar Margarete
dein aschenes Haar Sulamith

About the headline (FAQ)

In: Paul Celan, Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2001


Text Authorship:

  • by John Felstiner (1936 - 2017), "Todesfuge = Deathfugue", copyright status unknown [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Paul Antschel (1920 - 1970), as Paul Celan, "Todesfuge", appears in Mohn und Gedächtnis, first published 1952, copyright ©
    • 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 Lori Laitman (b. 1955), "Todesfuge", 2010/2013, first performed 2012 [ baritone and violoncello ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

This text was added to the website: 2025-09-14
Line count: 41
Word count: 402

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