I'd rather (Eichendorff, set by Hugo Wolf) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

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by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Lieber alles

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): 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!

Authorship

by Josef Karl Benedikt 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 Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Lieber alles", 1886-8 [voice and piano], from Eichendorff-Lieder, no. 11. [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "I'd rather", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Plutôt tout", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Meglio di tutto", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "Millor tot", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , title 1: "Le mieux", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:27
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!

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857), "Lieber alles", appears in Gedichte, in 3. Zeitlieder

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:27
Line count: 13
Word count: 75