Wenn ein Liebes dir der TodAus den Augen fortgerückt,Such es nicht im Morgenrot,Nicht im Stern, der abends blickt. Such es nirgends früh und spät,Als im Herzen immerfort.Was man so geliebet, gehtNimmermehr aus diesem Ort. — Justinus Kerner Where to be found? If Death’s come to take away,Push a loved one out of sight,Look not to… Continue reading “Wo zu finden?”
Category: Translations
My own hobby translations
Crow vs. Raven
Die Krähe Eine Krähe war mit mir Aus der Stadt gezogen, Ist bis heute für und für Um mein Haupt geflogen. Krähe, wunderliches Tier, Willst mich nicht verlassen? Meinst wohl bald als Beute hier Meinen Leib zu fassen? Nun, es wird nicht weit mehr gehn An dem Wanderstabe. Krähe, lass mich endlich sehn Treue bis… Continue reading Crow vs. Raven
Watch out for strange women in forests (Waldgespräch)
Poor old Robert Schumann. Was I too hard on him in a previous post? He wrote a lot of good stuff, including a fine setting of Eichendorff’s Waldgespräch: Waldgespräch means “forest conversation.” But I just did my own translation and I’d like to call it… Waldgespräch Meeting in a forest Es ist schon spät, es wird… Continue reading Watch out for strange women in forests (Waldgespräch)
American girls won’t get up early to shine your shoes
Deutsch für Amerikaner, my mom’s old German textbook (copyright 1960) is an interesting social-history artifact. Here’s a passage where a university student from Germany discusses the American family he’s staying with. (All these people are fictional of course, but intended to be representative of their time and place.) WHO IS HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD? The… Continue reading American girls won’t get up early to shine your shoes
More Trumpian back-translation
This Süddeutsche Zeitung article (entitled “The Germans are bad, very bad”) with a collection of Trump’s statements about Merkel – translated into German, of course – made me want to try another back-translation exercise. I picked just one of the many quotes, a longer one that demonstrates the editing/cleanup process his statements often undergo on… Continue reading More Trumpian back-translation
Two songs
On Sunday I volunteered to sit in a basement for several hours doing very little. I forgot to bring something to read so I jotted down a couple of Lieder and had a go at translating them. The results, after some fine tuning at home, are below. Both of these could be improved – if… Continue reading Two songs
Reformation Flame War
In honor of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses, here is my heavily redacted version of a Reformation-era dialogue by Hans Sachs, namely A dialogue on the hypocrisy of the religious and their vows, through which, despising the blood of Christ, they presume to become holy. in which Hans the cobbler and Peter the… Continue reading Reformation Flame War
Heine heads for the hills
Here is my translation of the poem that opens Heinrich Heine’s delightful travel narrative Die Harzreise (1826). This poem is all about how it feels to leave the city of Göttingen — famous, he tells us, for its sausages and its university — to walk in nature among simple mountain folk. Schwarze Röcke, seidne Strümpfe, Weiße, höfliche… Continue reading Heine heads for the hills
Marion Dönhoff and Bismarck’s daughter-in-law at the end of the world
In January 1945, East Prussian Countess Marion Dönhoff jumped on her horse and headed west, away from the Russian army. Seven weeks later she and the horse arrived safely in Hamburg, where she settled and built a long career in journalism. She recounted the journey in her book Namen, die keiner mehr nennt. Ostpreußen –… Continue reading Marion Dönhoff and Bismarck’s daughter-in-law at the end of the world
“Five Germanys”
Recent events have inspired me to re-read Fritz Stern‘s book Five Germanys I have known (grammar nerds will note that it is “Germanys,” not “Germanies,” because the usual plural spelling rules don’t apply to proper names), specifically the middle section about nurturing, preserving, and defending liberal democracy. Reading this book ten years ago, I skimmed that… Continue reading “Five Germanys”