I'd rather | To be a soldier is dangerous

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Lieber alles

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE FRE ITA

Soldat sein ist gefährlich, 
studieren sehr beschwerlich,
das Dichten süß und zierlich,
der Dichter gar possierlich
in diesen wilden Zeiten.
Ich möcht' am liebsten reiten,
ein gutes Schwert zur Seiten,
die Laute in der Rechten,
Studentenherz zum Fechten.
Ein wildes Roß ist's Leben,
die Hufe Funken geben,
wer's ehrlich wagt, bezwingt es,
und wo es tritt, da klingt es!

Text Authorship:

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Lieber alles", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Zeitlieder [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 Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Lieber alles", op. 28 (6 Gesänge für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 4, published 1844 [ four-part men's chorus ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Lieber alles", 1886-8 [ voice and piano ], from Eichendorff-Lieder, no. 11 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Millor tot", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "I'd rather", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Plutôt tout", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , "Le mieux", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Meglio di tutto", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 59

I'd rather

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 To be a soldier is dangerous,
 and studies are very cumbersome;
 poetry is sweet and delicate,
 but poets are too quaint
 in these wild times.
 I would rather be in the cavalry,
 a good sword at my side,
 a lute in my right hand,
 and a student's heart for the fight.
 Life is a wild charger
 with flashing hoofs:
 he who dares honestly will subjugate it,
 and where it treads, its hoofs ring out!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 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 Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Lieber alles", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Zeitlieder
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 75