The retreat
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE SPA
I live no more in the outer world; for me
The rose is faded and the wine-cup dry;
Not that I fall to vainer apathy,
Nor sated with false pleasure, vainly sigh.
But having proved the world in all its ways,
With sense, with dignity, nor fond nor mad,
I find not there a single thing to praise,
No, nor a single thing to make me glad.
A staggering drunken animal I see,
Careering o'er bare mountains and bare plains,
Intent upon its own absurdity,
And loving pleasure only for its pains;
That is the world, ah, friend, let us retire
In to the spacious chamber of our mind
To sit and talk before the cosy fire
And listen to the winter, wailing wind!
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger) , "La retraite", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfredo García) , "El retiro", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Alfredo García
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 124
El retiro
Language: Spanish (Español)  after the English
Ya no vivo en el mundo; para mí,
la rosa se ha apagado y la copa de vino está seca;
no porque caiga en una apatía más vana,
o, ahíto de falsos placeres, en vano suspire.
Sino porque tras probar el mundo en todas sus facetas,
con juicio, con dignidad, ni ingenuo ni irritado,
no encuentro en él una sola cosa que elogiar,
ni una sola cosa que me haga feliz.
Veo un animal borracho que se tambalea,
que corre por montañas y llanuras,
obstinado en su absurda existencia,
y amante del placer sólo por su sufrimiento;
ese es el mundo; ¡ah, amigo, retirémonos
al amplio espacio de nuestras mentes
para hablar, sentados, ante el fuego
y escuchar los gemidos del viento invernal!
Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 123