Première neige | Tu es devenue vieille, verte année

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Erster Schnee

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG FRE

Alt geworden bist Du, grünes Jahr,
Blickst schon welk und trägst schon Schnee im Haar,
Gehst schon müd und hast den Tod im Schritt-
Ich begleite Dich, ich sterbe mit.

Zögernd geht das [Herz den bangen]¹ Pfad,
Angstvoll schläft im Schnee die Wintersaat.
Wieviel Äste brach mir schon der Wind,
Deren Narben nun mein Panzer sind!
Wieviel bittere Tode starb ich schon!
Neugeburt war jedes Todes Lohn.

Sei willkommen, Tod, du dunkles Tor!
Jenseits läutet hell des Lebens Chor.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• K. Scholz

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 262-263.

¹ Scholz: "bange Herze den"

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Erster Schnee", written 1919 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Karl Scholz , "Erster Schnee", 1958 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-06-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 80

Première neige

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

Tu es devenue vieille, verte année, 
Déjà tu apparais fanée et tu as de la neige dans les cheveux, 
Tu vas déjà d'un pas las et tu as la démarche de la mort; 
Je T'accompagne, je meurs avec toi. 
Réticent, mon cœur avance craintivement sur le chemin, 
Les semences de l'hiver dorment angoissées dans la neige. 
Combien de branches le vent m'a-t-il déjà cassées, 
Dont les cicatrices sont ma carapace !
Je suis déjà mort de combien d'amères morts ! 
Une renaissance sera la récompense de cette mort. 
Soit la bienvenue, mort, toi, sombre passage! 
Au-delà retentit le chœur de la vie.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2011 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Erster Schnee", written 1919
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-21
Line count: 12
Word count: 100