by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1886 - 1962), as Ethel Carnie
Translation Singable translation by Rudolf Stephan Hoffmann (1878 - 1931)
Possession
Language: English
There bloomed [by]1 my cottage door A rose with a heart scented sweet, O so lovely and fair that I plucked it one day, Laid it over my own heart's [quick]2 beat. In a moment its petals were shed: Just a tiny white mound at my feet. There flew through my casements low A linnet [who]3 richly could sing. Sang so thrillingly sweet I could not let it go But must cage it, the [glad, pretty]4 thing. But it [died]5 in the cage I had made, Not a note to my chamber would bring. There came to my lonely soul [A]6 friend I had waited for long, And the deep chilly silence lay stricken and dead, Pierc'd to death by our love and our song. And I thought [on]7 the bird and the flow'r And my soul in its knowledge grew strong. Go out when thou wilt, O friend; -- Sing thy song, roam the world glad and free ; By the holding I lose; by the giving I gain, And the gods cannot take thee from me ; For a song and a scent on the wind Shall drift in through the doorway from thee.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Smyth: "at"
2 Smyth: "swift"
3 Smyth: "that"
4 Smyth: "wild, happy"
5 Smyth: "pined"
6 Smyth: "The"
7 Smyth: "of"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Smyth: "at"
2 Smyth: "swift"
3 Smyth: "that"
4 Smyth: "wild, happy"
5 Smyth: "pined"
6 Smyth: "The"
7 Smyth: "of"
Text Authorship:
- by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1886 - 1962), as Ethel Carnie, "Possession", appears in Songs of a Factory Girl, first published 1911 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame (1858 - 1944), "Possession", 1913, published 1913 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and orchestra ], from Three songs, no. 2, Leipzig: Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Rudolf Stephan Hoffmann (1878 - 1931) ; composed by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 193
Erkenntnis
Language: English after the English
Es blüht in dem Garten mein ein Blümlein in lieblicher Lust; und es duftet so süß, und ich pflückte es fein, und ich drückt's an die klopfende Brust. Aber bald lag entblättert die Pracht, und das Blümlein hat sterben gemusst. Es flog durch das Fenster mein ein Vöglein, das zwitscherte hell, sang so zauberisch süß, da fing ich es ein, und im Käfig verschloss ich es schnell. Doch es starb noch in selbiger Nacht ohne Sang mir mein lieber Gesell. Es kam meiner Einsamkeit der Freund, den ich träumte so lang', und da starb mir das Schweigen und starb alles Leid, und nur Liebe noch war und Gesang. Hab' an Blume und Vogel gedacht, und ins Herz die Erkenntnis mir drang: Geh' fort, wenn du willst, mein Freund, ruft die Welt dich, die weite, von hier; nur der Zwang, der entzweit, und die Freiheit vereint, und kein Gott kann entreißen dich mir. Sang und Duft, den der Wind mir gebracht, ist ein Grüßen, du Lieber, von dir!
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Rudolf Stephan Hoffmann (1878 - 1931) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1886 - 1962), as Ethel Carnie, "Possession", appears in Songs of a Factory Girl, first published 1911
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame (1858 - 1944), "Erkenntnis", 1913, published 1913 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and orchestra ], from Three songs, no. 2, Leipzig: Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-09-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 167