Lament
(Poet's title: Klage)
Set by Schubert:
D 371
[January 1816]
Trauer umfließt mein Leben,
Hoffnungslos mein Streben,
Stets in Glut und Beben
Schleicht mir hin das Leben.
O! nimmer trag ich’s länger.
Leiden und Schmerzen wühlen
Mir in den Gefühlen,
Keine Lüfte kühlen
Banger Ahndung Fühlen.
O! nimmer trag ich’s länger!
Nur ferner Tod kann heilen
Solcher Schmerzen Weilen,
Wo sich die Pforten teilen,
Werd ich wieder heilen.
Oh! nimmer trag ich’s länger.
Grief flows all around my life,
My struggles are hopeless,
Always glowing and trembling
Life crawls away from me;
Oh, I cannot bear it any longer!
Pain and suffering are gnawing away
At my feelings,
No breezes cool
The anxious intimation of this sensation:
Oh, I cannot bear it any longer!
Only far-off death can heal
Such enduring pain;
Where the doorway opens up,
That is where I shall be made whole again;
Oh, I cannot bear it any longer!
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Themes and images in this text:
Doors and gates Floods and tides Graves and burials Hope Laments, elegies and mourning Near and far Pain Soothing and healing Striving Wind
The speaker is overwhelmed. His projects stand no chance of success, however hard he works at them. Nothing can ease the resulting anxiety and sense of despair. All of this failure of past and present struggles and a lack of future prospects is interpreted as pain or illness. The only chance of recovery (healing) lies beyond a distant gateway: the grave. We should perhaps imagine a grave already dug and prepared to receive a body; before the coffin can be lowered down it is placed on two boards which cover the grave. As the undertakers or gravediggers remove these boards or planks we have the impression of a doorway opening up.
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Original Spelling Klage Trauer umfließt mein Leben, Hoffnungslos mein Streben, Stets in Gluth und Beben Schleicht mir hin das Leben. O! nimmer trag ich's länger. Leiden und Schmerzen wühlen Mir in den Gefühlen, Keine Lüfte kühlen Banger Ahndung Fühlen. O! nimmer trag ich's länger! Nur ferner Tod kann heilen Solcher Schmerzen Weilen, Wo sich die Pforten theilen, Werd' ich wieder heilen. O! nimmer trag ich's länger.
Note: Text confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s autograph (clean copy), Vienna City Library, call number Mus.Hs.L14.Münze.2.