Politics
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE ITA
How can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and [war's]1 alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!
View original text (without footnotes)
Note: the poem is headed by this quote: "In our time the destiny of man presents its meanings in political terms" - Thomas Mann.
1 Wilkinson: "man's
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Politique", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Politica", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 64
Politique
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Comment puis-je, avec cette fille devant moi,
Fixer mon attention
Sur la politique romaine, russe
ou celle de l'Espagne ?
Pourtant ici il y a un homme qui a voyagé qui sait
De quoi il parle,
Et il y a un politicien
Qui a lu et pensé,
Et peut-être que ce qu'ils disent est vrai
Sur la guerre et les craintes de guerre,
Mais, si je pouvais être jeune à nouveau
Et la tenir dans mes bras !
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © by Guy Laffaille, (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.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2016-12-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 78