Comme ce serait magnifique, sapin abattu | Comme ce serait magnifique, sapin abattu

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by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Wie herrlich wär's

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Wie herrlich wär's, zerschnittner Tannenbaum,
Du ragtest als ein schlanker Mast empor,
Bewimpelt, in den blauen Himmelsraum,
Vor einem sonnig heitern Hafentor!

Da, müssen wir einmal beisammen sein,
Lehnt ich an dir im schwanken Segelhaus:
Du aus dem Schwarzwald, drüben ich vom Rhein,
Kamraden, reisten wir aufs Meer hinaus.

Und bräch das Schiff zu Splittern auseinand,
Geborsten du und über Bord gefällt,
Umfaßt ich dich mit eisenfester Hand:
So schwämmen beide wir ans End der Welt.

Am besten wär's, du stündest hoch und frei
Im Tannenwald, das Haupt voll Vogelsang,
Ich aber schlenderte an dir vorbei,
Wohin ich wollt, den grünen Berg entlang!

Text Authorship:

by Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890), appears in Gesammelte Gedichte, in Lebendig begraben, no. 11 [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 Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Wie herrlich wär's", op. 40 no. 11 (1926) [bass or baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra], from Lebendig begraben: 14 Gesänge nach der gleichnamigen Gedichtfolge von Gottfried Keller, no. 11, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Martin Stock) , title 1: "How splendid it would be if you, felled fir tree", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "Comme ce serait magnifique, sapin abattu", copyright © 2010, (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: 16
Word count: 103

Comme ce serait magnifique, sapin abattu

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Comme ce serait magnifique, sapin abattu,
Si tu t'élançais dans les bleus espaces du ciel
Tel un mince mât pavoisé
Devant les portes d'un port ensoleillé !

Et comme nous devions un jour être réunis
Je me suis appuyé sur toi dans ma soute vacillante :
Toi partant de la Forêt Noire, moi du Rhin,
Camarades, nous avons pris le large.

Et si le navire se brise en mille morceaux
Et si toi, brisé, tu tombes par-dessus bord,
Je t'agripperais d'un main de fer :
Ainsi nous nagerions tous deux jusqu'au bout du monde.

Le mieux serait que tu restes debout, haut et libre
Dans la sapinière, la tête emplie des chants d'oiseaux,
Et moi je baguenauderais devant toi,
Allant à ma guise, au pied de la verte montagne !

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2010 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890), appears in Gesammelte Gedichte, in Lebendig begraben, no. 11
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-10-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 126