Der Greis
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG FIN FRE SPA
Hin ist alle meine Kraft!
Alt und schwach bin ich;
Wenig nur erquicket mich
Scherz und Rebensaft!
Hin ist alle meine Zier!
Meiner Wangen Roth
Ist hinweggeflohn! Der Tod
Klopft an meine Thür!
Unerschreckt mach' ich ihm auf;
Himmel, habe Dank:
Ein harmonischer Gesang
War mein Lebenslauf!
Note (provided by Laura Prichard): Haydn had the first two lines of this text engraved on his calling cards. He found this text in a 1778 anthology (Lyrische Blumenlese, Leipzig, 1774-1778).
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):
- ENG English (J. Gompertz) , first published 1814
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "The old man", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Vanhus", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le vieillard", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elena María Accinelli) , "El anciano", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-05-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 47
The old man
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Gone is all my strength!
Old and weak am I;
Only subtly can I be revived by
Lively company and the juice of the grape!
Gone is all my strength!
My ruddy cheeks
Are long gone! Death
Raps at my door!
Fearlessly, I open up;
O Heaven, I’m thankful:
Such a harmonious song
Has been my life!
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2020-01-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 57