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Wie haben sie dich, Baum, verschnitten, Wie stehst du fremd und sonderbar! Wie hast du hundertmal gelitten, Bis nichts in dir als Trotz und Wille war! Ich bin wie du, mit dem verschnittnen, Gequälten Leben brach ich nicht Und tauche täglich aus durchlittnen Roheiten neu die Stirn ins Licht. Was in mir weich und zart gewesen, Hat mir die Welt zu Tod gehöhnt, Doch unzerstörbar ist mein Wesen, Ich bin zufrieden, bin versöhnt, Geduldig neue Blätter treib ich Aus Ästen hundertmal zerspellt, Und allem Weh zu Trotze bleib ich Verliebt in die verrückte Welt.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 269-270.
Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Gestutzte Eiche", written 1919, appears in Gedichte des Malers, no. 9 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Franz Krause (b. 1889), "Gestutzte Eiche", op. 38 no. 7, published 1964 [ voice and piano ], from Zehn Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Werner Kuck (1891 - ?), "Gestutzte Eiche ", op. 43 no. 3 [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Gedichte von Hermann Hesse, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans-Hermann Kurig (1914 - 2002), "Gestutzte Eiche ", 1952 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Gestutzte Eiche", op. 67b (1953), first performed 1954 [ men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Stöcklin , "Gestutzte Eiche", 1955 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Pruned oak", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-20
Line count: 16
Word count: 94
How have they mutilated you, tree, How different and strange you look standing there! How you have suffered a hundred times, Until you consisted of nothing but defiance and will! I am like you, I did not break With my pruned, tortured life, And, from out of the brutalities I have suffered, I daily immerse my brow anew in light. What was soft and gentle in me The world has scorned to death, Yet indestructible is my being, I am content, am reconciled, Patiently I send forth new leaves From branches split a hundred times, And in defiance of all pain I remain In love with this crazy world.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Gestutzte Eiche", written 1919, appears in Gedichte des Malers, no. 9
This text was added to the website: 2018-05-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 109