Recognition | People love us, and unhappily

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by Franz Viktor Werfel (1890 - 1945)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Der Erkennende

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

Menschen lieben uns, und unbeglückt
Stehn sie auf vom Tisch, um uns zu weinen.
Doch wir sitzen übers Tuch gebückt
Und sind kalt und können sie verneinen.

Was uns liebt, wie stoßen wir es fort
Und uns Kalte kann kein Gram erweichen.
Was wir lieben, das entrafft ein Ort [Wort],
Es wird hart und nicht mehr zu erreichen.

Und das Wort, das waltet, heißt: Allein,
Wenn wir machtlos zu einander brennen.
Eines weiß ich: nie und nichts wird mein.
Mein Besitz allein, das zu erkennen.

Text Authorship:

by Franz Viktor Werfel (1890 - 1945) [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 Alma Mahler (1879 - 1964), "Der Erkennende", 1915, published 1924, from Fünf Gesänge, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Recognition", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Celui qui sait", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Colui che sa", 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: 12
Word count: 85

Recognition

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

People love us, and unhappily
They step back from the table to weep for us.
However, we hunch over the tablecloth
And are cold and can say no to them.

Whatever loves us, we push it away
And the cold does not soften our grief.
Whatever we love, that scatters,
It becomes difficult and no longer reachable.

And the word that prevails means: Alone,
When we are powerless to hurt each other.
One thing I know: nothing will ever be mine.
My property alone, that you recognize.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Laura Prichard, (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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Franz Viktor Werfel (1890 - 1945)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-06-21
Line count: 12
Word count: 87