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Keinen Reimer wird man finden Der sich nicht den besten hielte, Keinen Fiedler, der nicht lieber Eigne Melodien spielte. Und ich konnte sie nicht tadeln; Wenn wir andern Ehre geben, Müssen wir uns selbst entadeln; Lebt man denn, wenn andre leben? Und so fand ich's denn auch juste In gewissen Antichambern, Wo man nicht zu sondern wußte Mäusedreck von Koriandern. Das Gewesne wollte hassen Solche rüstge neue Besen, Diese dann nicht gelten lassen Was sonst Besen war gewesen. Und wo sich die Völker trennen Gegenseitig im Verachten, Keins von beiden wird bekennen, Daß sie nach demselben trachten. Und das grobe Selbstempfinden Haben Leute hart gescholten, Die am wenigsten verwinden, Wenn die andern was gegolten.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 5. Buch des Unmuts -- Rendsch Nameh [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 Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924), "Lied des Unmuts", 1923, published 1964. [text not verified]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Unmut", op. 19b no. 5 (1914) [voice and piano], from Lieder aus dem Westöstlichen Diwan von Goethe, no. 5. [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "Song of ill humor", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Chant de la mauvaise humeur", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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: 114
Not one rhymer can one find that does not hold himself the best, nor fiddler who would not rather play his own melodies. And I cannot blame them; when we give honor to others we must degrade ourselves; does one then live, when others live? And so I have found recently in certain ante-chambers where one does not know how to distinguish mouse dung from coriander. The has-beens would hate such active new brooms, and these in turn give little weight to those who once were brooms. And where people disagree with contempt, neither side will admit that they strive for the same thing. And this rude self-esteem has been condemned the most strongly by those who find it most difficult to recover when others are successful.
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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 5. Buch des Unmuts -- Rendsch Nameh
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 128