Hassids are dancing | Night blows

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by Nelly Sachs (1891 - 1970)

Translation © by John Glenn Paton

Chassidim tanzen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Nacht weht
mit todentrißnen Fahnen.
 
Schwarze Hüte
Gottes Blitz-Ableiter
rühren das Meer auf
 
wiegen es
wiegen es aus
 
werfen es an den Strand
dort wo das Licht
die schwarzen Wunden ausgeschnitten hat.
 
Auf der Zunge
wird die Welt geschmeckt
abgesungen
die atmet mit der Jenseitslunge.
 
Auf dem Sieben-Leuchter
beten die Plejaden --

Text Authorship:

by Nelly Sachs (1891 - 1970) [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 Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Chassidim tanzen", 1972, published c1973 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "Hassids are dancing", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: John Glenn Paton [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-08-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 51

Hassids are dancing

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Night blows
with flags torn away from death.
 
Black hats,
God's lightning rods,
stir up the sea
 
weigh it
weigh it out
 
toss it onto the beach
there where the light
has carved out black wounds.
 
On the tongue
the world tastes
sung out
which breathes with the lungs of the hereafter.
 
On the seven-branched candelabra
the Pleiades pray.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by John Glenn Paton, (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 Nelly Sachs (1891 - 1970)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2009-08-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 59