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Erlkoenig
The Alder King
after Goethe's Erlkoenig
The road is long, the night is wild,
A man is riding with his child.
He holds him close to keep him warm
Against the battering of the storm.
"My dear, why are you shivering?"
"Oh father, look, the Alder King
In his spiky crown and floating train!"
"There's nothing there but drifting rain."
"My darling come and live with me;
We''ll play such games beside the sea
In meadows full of deathless flowers -
The two of us- for hours and hours..."
"Didn't you hear that speech of his
Such pretty words, such promises?"
"All I can hear is wind and weather-
The dead, old boughs as they crash together."
"My daughters wait on the dancing floor.
They say they need one dancer more.
They'll sing for you, they'll hold you tight
And sit beside you all the night."
"Father, look, in the shadows there-
The daughters how they stand and stare,
Their white hair falling to their knees."
"There's nothing there but the willow trees."
"Love, I've been gentle for your sake
But what I cannot woo I take."
"Oh father, do not let me go.
The Alder King is hurting so."
He holds his son against his breast.
He shivers. He has done his best.
The lights of home gleam just ahead.
He reaches them. The boy is dead.
after Goethe's Erlkoenig
The road is long, the night is wild,
A man is riding with his child.
He holds him close to keep him warm
Against the battering of the storm.
"My dear, why are you shivering?"
"Oh father, look, the Alder King
In his spiky crown and floating train!"
"There's nothing there but drifting rain."
"My darling come and live with me;
We''ll play such games beside the sea
In meadows full of deathless flowers -
The two of us- for hours and hours..."
"Didn't you hear that speech of his
Such pretty words, such promises?"
"All I can hear is wind and weather-
The dead, old boughs as they crash together."
"My daughters wait on the dancing floor.
They say they need one dancer more.
They'll sing for you, they'll hold you tight
And sit beside you all the night."
"Father, look, in the shadows there-
The daughters how they stand and stare,
Their white hair falling to their knees."
"There's nothing there but the willow trees."
"Love, I've been gentle for your sake
But what I cannot woo I take."
"Oh father, do not let me go.
The Alder King is hurting so."
He holds his son against his breast.
He shivers. He has done his best.
The lights of home gleam just ahead.
He reaches them. The boy is dead.
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Wikipedia has a wonderfullly comprehensive page about it, including a link to the audio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlkonig
I didn't know about the Rammstein adaptation.
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I logged onto Wikipedia before attempting my version- and used their translation as a crib.
Marian Anderson, eh?- I'll check it out.
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Damn! Now I want to listen to a recording!
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I am going to add you to my f-list so that you can access the recording I put up for that purpose. There's one linked from the Wikipedia article, too, but it's not as good. There's a lot more energy, drive, etc. in hers, even if the 1951 recording is a bit tinny.
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My thought exactly! So now I'm sitting at 7am on a Monday morning, waking up to the "soothing (?) sound of the Lied! It always reminds me of sitting by the fireplace in Ye Olde Bobbin Mill in Hawkshead (Lake District). An oddly peaceful association to have to such a tense piece of music.
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The poem has a genuinely folky quality- not at all typical of the 18th century.
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xx
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