by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Klingsor an Edith
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG
Heut spiel ich dir ein Lied
Auf gedämpfter Saite am Winterabend,
Ein Lied aus der grünen Zeit, 
Da uns die Waldnacht zärtlich
Mit Liebeslaubgeflüster in sich sog. 
Leise schleicht in der Dämmerung
Die vergessenen Pfade mein Lied,
Ach, die nie vergessenen,
Wo ich Klingsors heimliche Krone trug
Und im glühenden Julimond
Fromm den Göttern des Weins und der Liebe geopfert.
Seid ihr alle denn tot, geliebte
Bilder jener verzauberten Zeit?

Ja, ihr starbt, ihr welktet! Ich aber
Lebe, und wenn mir der nächste Sturm
Eure Asche vom Haupt und den Schleier vom Herzen reißt, 
Funkelt die Krone, glühn alle Sterne neu, 
Und die schwellenden Wälder rufen
Meinen Namen und meine Liebe dir zu.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 263-264.


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Richard Junker.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Klingsor a Edith", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Klingsor to Edith", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-01-22
Line count: 19
Word count: 113

Klingsor to Edith
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Today I shall play you a song
Upon a muted string on a winter’s evening,
A song from the green time,
When the forest night gently drew us
Into itself with loving whispers of the foliage.
In the twilight my song creeps quietly
Along the forgotten paths,
Ah, the never-forgotten [paths],
Where I wore Klingsor’s secret crown
And in the glowing moon of July
Piously made sacrifices to the gods of wine and of love.
Are you all then dead, beloved
Images of that enchanted time?

Yes, you died, you withered! But I
Live, and when the next storm
Sweeps your ashes from my head and the veil from my heart,
The crown shall sparkle, all the stars shall glow anew,
And the swelling forests shall call out to you
My name and my love.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 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.
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This text was added to the website: 2021-01-22
Line count: 19
Word count: 135