Ich gehe immer von Tor zu Tor, verregnet und verbrannt; auf einmal leg ich mein rechtes Ohr in meine rechte Hand. Dann kommt mir meine Stimme vor, als hätt ich sie nie gekannt. Dann weiß ich nicht sicher, wer da schreit, ich oder irgendwer. Ich schreie um eine Kleinigkeit. Die Dichter schrein um mehr. Und endlich mach ich noch mein Gesicht mit beiden Augen zu; wie's dann in der Hand liegt mit seinem Gewicht sieht es fast aus wie Ruh. Damit sie nicht meinen ich hätte nicht, wohin ich mein Haupt tu.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Das Buch der Bilder von Rainer Maria Rilke, Leipzig, Iminsel-Verlag, 1920, page 134.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Das Lied des Bettlers", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, in Die Stimmen: Neun Blätter mit einem Titelblatt, no. 2, first published 1906 [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 Antal Doráti (1906 - 1988), "Das Lied des Bettlers", 1975, orchestrated 1978 [ bass and piano or orchestra ], from Die Stimmen, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Hanf (1894 - 1944), "Die Bettler" [ voice and chamber orchestra ], from cantata Auferstehung der Bettler, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Heinz Höne (1924 - 2008), "Das Lied des Bettlers" [ 4 soli and piano ], from Die Stimmen, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Huyssen (b. 1964), "Das Lied des Bettlers", 1992, first performed 1998 [ baritone and guitar ], from Die Stimmen, no. 1, Unveröffentliches Manuskript [sung text not yet checked]
- by René Mense (b. 1969), "Die Bettler", 1996, published 1997 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder, no. 3, Selbstverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karel Van Eycken (b. 1943), "Das Lied des Bettlers", op. 95 no. 4, copyright © 2014 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Rilke Lieder, no. 4, Uitgeverij DMP [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Albert Ernest Flemming , appears in Rainer Maria Rilke: Selected Poems, first published 1986, copyright © ; composed by Stephen Paulus.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La chanson du mendiant", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-06-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 92
I am always going from door to door [ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- by Albert Ernest Flemming , appears in Rainer Maria Rilke: Selected Poems, first published 1986, copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Das Lied des Bettlers", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, in Die Stimmen: Neun Blätter mit einem Titelblatt, no. 2, first published 1906
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Stephen Paulus (b. 1949), "Song of the beggar", copyright © 1998 [TB chorus with divisi to TTTBBB and full orchestra], from Voices, no. 2, Paulus Publications [ sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2012-06-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 111