by
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
In Reading gaol by Reading town
Language: English
Available translation(s): GER
In Reading gaol by Reading town
There is a pit of shame,
And in it lies a wretched man
Eaten by teeth of flame,
In a burning winding-sheet he lies,
And his grave has got no name.
And there, till Christ call forth the dead,
In silence let him lie:
No need to waste the foolish tear,
Or heave the windy sigh:
The man had killed the thing he loved,
And so he had to die.
And all men kill the thing they love,
By all let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Ballade vom Reading Gefängnis (VI - Schluß)", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2020-01-13
Line count: 18
Word count: 115
Ballade vom Reading Gefängnis (VI ‑ Schluß)
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Im Reading Knast bei Reading Stadt
da gähnt ein Loch der Schand'
und in ihm liegt ein Unglücksmann,
verzehrt vom Höllenbrand.
Im Grabtuch brennend liegt er da -
am Grab kein Name stand.
Und dort, bis Gott die Toten ruft,
die Ruhe ihm gewähr:
Verschwende keine töricht' Trän'
und seufz' nicht schwer und leer:
Er tötete, was er geliebt,
und sterben mußte er.
Und alle töten ihre Lieb'
und allen sei's erklärt:
Der eine tut's mit bitt'rem Blick,
der and're Lob verehrt,
der Feige tut's mit einem Kuß,
der Tapf're mit dem Schwert!
Authorship:
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This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 93