Text & Translation
Im Herbste
German source:
Emanuel Geibel
Bebt noch eine einz’ge Ranke:
Also bebt in meinem Sinne
Schmerzlich nur noch ein Gedanke.
Kaum vermag ich ihn zu fassen,
Aber dennoch von mir lassen
Will er, ach, zu keiner Frist;
Und so denk ich ihn, und trage
Alle Nächte, alle Tage
Mit mir fort die dumpfe Klage,
Daß du mir verloren bist.
In Autumn
translation ©
Richard Stokes
One last vine quivers:
Likewise in my mind quivers
One single painful thought.
I can hardly comprehend it,
Yet it will not leave me,
Alas, for a single moment;
And so I think it and carry it
Every day and every night
Around with me, this numb lament –
That you are lost to me.
Im Herbste
German source:
Emanuel Geibel
In Autumn
source:
Richard Stokes
Auf des Gartens Mauerzinne
High on the garden wall
Bebt noch eine einz’ge Ranke:
One last vine quivers:
Also bebt in meinem Sinne
Likewise in my mind quivers
Schmerzlich nur noch ein Gedanke.
One single painful thought.
Kaum vermag ich ihn zu fassen,
I can hardly comprehend it,
Aber dennoch von mir lassen
Yet it will not leave me,
Will er, ach, zu keiner Frist;
Alas, for a single moment;
Und so denk ich ihn, und trage
And so I think it and carry it
Alle Nächte, alle Tage
Every day and every night
Mit mir fort die dumpfe Klage,
Around with me, this numb lament –
Daß du mir verloren bist.
That you are lost to me.
Composer
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
Fanny Hensel, née Mendelssohn (1805-47), was an exceptionally gifted musician whose potential was stifled by the gendered social conventions of her upper-middle-class background in mid-19th-century Berlin. She came from a wealthy and cultivated…
Poet
Emanuel Geibel
Emanuel von Geibel , German poet and playwright. He was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests lay not in theology but in classical and…