Die Loreley
Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten
Text: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), Melodie: Friedrich Silcher (1798-1860)
The Lorelei (German: Loreley) is a 132 mt high rock on the right bank of the river Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany.
In 1824, Heinrich Heine seized on and adapted Brentano's theme in one of his most famous poems, "Die Lorelei". It describes the eponymous female as a sort of siren who, sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks. In 1837 Heine's lyrics were set to music by Friedrich Silcher in the art song "Lorelei"[2] that became well known in German-speaking lands.
Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
dass ich so traurig bin;
ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
im Abendsonnenschein.
Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
dort oben wunderbar;
ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet,
sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.
Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme
und singt ein Lied dabei;
das hat eine wundersame,
gewaltige Melodei.
Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
und das hat mit ihrem Singen
die Lore-Ley getan.
Tr. Frank 1998
1. I cannot determine the meaning
Of sorrow that fills my breast:
A fable of old, through it streaming,
Allows my mind no rest.
The air is cool in the gloaming
And gently flows the Rhine.
The crest of the mountain is gleaming
In fading rays of sunshine.
2. The loveliest maiden is sitting
Up there, so wondrously fair;
Her golden jewelry is glist'ning;
She combs her golden hair.
She combs with a gilded comb, preening,
And sings a song, passing time.
It has a most wondrous, appealing
And pow'rful melodic rhyme.
3. The boatman aboard his small skiff, -
Enraptured with a wild ache,
Has no eye for the jagged cliff, -
His thoughts on the heights fear forsake.
I think that the waves will devour
Both boat and man, by and by,
And that, with her dulcet-voiced power
Was done by the Loreley.
Io non so che voglia dire,
questo esser tanto triste.
C’è una storia d'altre ere
che nella mia mente insiste.
Fresca è l'aria e l'ombra cala,
scorre il Reno quietamente;
sopra il monte splende il sole
declinando all'occidente.
La bellissima fanciulla
sta lassù, mostra il tesoro
dei suoi splendidi gioielli,
liscia i suoi capelli d'oro.
Mentre con gesto etereo
l’aurea chioma ravvia,
un canto riempie l’aere
di magica malia.
Sul suo scafo il battelliere
più non sa che mal l'opprima,
gl’irti scogli non può vedere,
fissi ha gli occhi su la cima.
Quando avverte urto e schianto,
per la barca è tardi ormai;
questo ha fatto col suo canto
la sirena Lorelei.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Lore-Ley
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei
