From
Winter Journey
A Song Cycle
Music by Franz Schubert
Poetry by Wilhelm Mueller
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Gerald Moore, piano
DER LINDENBAUM
Am Brunnen vor dem Tore
Da steht ein Lindenbaum;
Ich träumt' in seinem Schatten
So manchen süßen Traum.
Ich schnitt in seine Rinde
So manches liebe Wort;
Es zog in Freud' und Leide
Zu ihm mich immer fort.
Ich mußt' auch heute wandern
Vorbei in tiefer Nacht,
Da hab' ich noch im Dunkeln
Die Augen zugemacht.
Und seine Zweige rauschten,
Als riefen sie mir zu:
Komm her zu mir, Geselle,
Hier find'st du deine Ruh' !
Die kalten Winde bliesen
Mir grad' ins Angesicht;
Der Hut flog mir vom Kopfe,
Ich wendete mich nicht.
Nun bin ich manche Stunde
Entfernt von jenem Ort,
Und immer hör' ich's rauschen:
Du fändest Ruhe dort !
~ Wilhelm Mueller (1794-1827)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
The Linden Tree
By the well outside the city gates
there stands a linden tree.
While sleeping in its shadow,
sweet dreams it sent to me.
there stands a linden tree.
While sleeping in its shadow,
sweet dreams it sent to me.
And in its bark I chiseled
my messages of love:
My pleasures and my sorrows
were welcomed from above.
my messages of love:
My pleasures and my sorrows
were welcomed from above.
Today I had to pass it,
well in the depth of night ––
and still, in all the darkness,
my eyes closed to its sight.
well in the depth of night ––
and still, in all the darkness,
my eyes closed to its sight.
Its branches bent and rustled,
as if they called to me:
Come here, come here, good fellow,
your haven I shall be!
as if they called to me:
Come here, come here, good fellow,
your haven I shall be!
The icy winds were blowing,
straight in my face they ground.
The hat tore off my forehead.
I did not turn around.
straight in my face they ground.
The hat tore off my forehead.
I did not turn around.
Away I walked for hours
whence stands the linden tree,
and still I hear it whisp'ring:
You'll find your peace with me!
whence stands the linden tree,
and still I hear it whisp'ring:
You'll find your peace with me!
Again we are forced to realize that no one WANTS to find rest or peace in the blogosphere. Addicted to rage, conflict and endless complaint they are.
ReplyDeletePFUI!
Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
ReplyDelete~ C.S. Lewis
You looking for an argument? ;)
ReplyDeleteAnything but, as surely you are smart enough to know. ;-)
DeleteWhat we hope for –- and so rarely receive –– is appreciation –- a sign that whatever point we have tried to make has gotten through to SOMEONE, SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME.
ReplyDeleteI hasten to add that we do not crave "APPLAUSE." Applause and Appreciation are two different animals.
Much like the fabled difference between true Beauty and mere Prettiness.
I love what you post, FT. Really.
ReplyDeleteBut appreciation is sometimes best expressed and interpreted not in words, but by actions. The fact that I come here 20x+ daily to see what you have done is the best "sign" I can give you of my appreciation. Sorry if isn't "expressed" often enough. :(
Thersites, you are one of our most satisfactory interlocutors, if that's the right word? My remarks were aimed at the general public. I had no idea you spent that much time here. Believe me I feel honored.
Delete“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” –Doris Day
ReplyDeleteMost of us, I'm sorry to admit, aren't all that rich. :(
My diagnosis of the blogosphere is that it has become TOXIC ZONE, because it staggers and stumbles under the burden of entirely too much complaint and precious little affirmation.
DeleteOne can take a stand for positive thinking once in a while without becoming a Pollyanna, I should think. ;-)
Exhortations to virtues may not attract comment, but they do buoy the soul.
DeleteIt's good to know that. I do think it ought to be ACKNOWLEDGED more frequently. Who knows, it might start a positive trend?
DeleteNo harm in trying.
The "theme" running like an "earworm" through my fevered brain these days is all about "overcoming Evil with Good" instead of giving it a lot of exposure and just bitching about it.
Cultivating greater knowledge and appreciation of "the finer things in life" could certainly do no harm, and MIGHT even generate practical activity spreading virtue and enlarging the capacity to experience joy.
We'll never know, unless we make a concerted effort in that direction.
And for CHRIST'S sake –– literally –– don't allow any of these creepy leftists to sidetrack you into endless, hair-splitting "debates" over what might and might not constitute "the finer things" and what is and is not "virtuous."
That's what leftists do. They'll do everything possible to foment controversy by raising OBJECTIONS to any sound ideas that even hint at lessening the Left's Deathgrip on Power, then they'll overwhelm and neutralize the original impetus to "do good" by TALKING IT to DEATH.
Are friends delight or pain?
ReplyDeleteCould bounty but remain
Riches were good.
But if they only stay
Bolder to fly away,
Riches are sad.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)