The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Before the gods that made the gods
Bevor die Götter, die die Götter schufen,
Had seen their sunrise pass,
Ihren Sonnenaufgang hatten vergehen sehen,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
War das Weiße Pferd des Weißen Pferd Tals
Was cut out of the grass.
Aus dem Gras herausgeschnitten.
Before the gods that made the gods
Bevor die Götter, die die Götter schufen,
Had drunk at dawn their fill,
Im Morgengrauen ihren Durst gestillt hatten,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
War das Weiße Pferd des Weißen Pferd Tals
Was hoary on the hill.
Grau und alt auf dem Hügel.
Age beyond age on British land,
Zeitalter um Zeitalter auf britischem Boden,
Aeons on aeons gone,
Äonen um Äonen vergangen,
Was peace and war in western hills,
War Frieden und Krieg in westlichen Hügeln,
And the White Horse looked on.
Und das Weiße Pferd schaute zu.
For the White Horse knew England
Denn das Weiße Pferd kannte England,
When there was none to know;
Als es keinen gab, der es kannte;
He saw the first oar break or bend,
Er sah das erste Ruder brechen oder sich biegen,
He saw heaven fall and the world end,
Er sah den Himmel stürzen und die Welt enden,
O God, how long ago.
O Gott, wie lange ist das her.
For the end of the world was long ago,
Denn das Ende der Welt war vor langer Zeit,
And all we dwell to-day
Und alle, die wir heute wohnen,
As children of some second birth,
Als Kinder einer zweiten Geburt,
Like a strange people left on earth
Wie ein fremdes Volk, das auf Erden zurückgelassen wurde,
After a judgment day.
Nach einem Jüngsten Gericht.
For the end of the world was long ago,
Denn das Ende der Welt war vor langer Zeit,
When the ends of the world waxed free,
Als die Enden der Welt sich befreiten,
When Rome was sunk in a waste of slaves,
Als Rom in einer Flut von Sklaven versank,
And the sun drowned in the sea.
Und die Sonne im Meer ertrank.
When Caesar's sun fell out of the sky
Als Cäsars Sonne vom Himmel fiel
And whoso hearkened right
Und wer auch immer recht horchte,
Could only hear the plunging
Konnte nur das Stürzen hören,
Of the nations in the night.
Der Völker in der Nacht.
When the ends of the earth came marching in
Als die Enden der Erde einmarschierten
To torch and cresset gleam.
Zum Schein von Fackel und Ampel.
And the roads of the world that lead to Rome
Und die Straßen der Welt, die nach Rom führten,
Were filled with faces that moved like foam,
Waren gefüllt mit Gesichtern, die sich wie Schaum bewegten,
Like faces in a dream.
Wie Gesichter in einem Traum.
Vocabulary
- Bevor
- Before; prior to a particular time or event.
- die
- The (feminine singular or plural definite article).
- Götter
- Gods; plural of Gott, divine supernatural beings.
- schufen
- Created; past tense of schaffen, to make or create.
- Ihren
- Your (formal) or their (accusative/dative form).
- Sonnenaufgang
- Sunrise; the moment sun appears above horizon.
- hatten
- Had; past tense of haben, to have.
- vergehen
- Pass; elapse; go by in time.
- sehen
- See; perceive with the eyes.
- War
- Was; past tense of sein, to be.
- das
- The (neuter singular definite article).
- Weiße
- White; the color or whiteness.
- Pferd
- Horse; large hoofed domestic animal.
- des
- Of the; genitive form of the definite article.
- Weißen
- White (adjective in various cases).
- Tals
- Valley's; genitive form of Tal, valley.
- Aus
- From; out of a place or source.
- dem
- The (dative masculine or neuter form).
- Gras
- Grass; green vegetation covering ground.
- herausgeschnitten
- Cut out; carved or removed from something.
- Im
- In the; contraction of in dem.
- Morgengrauen
- Dawn; early morning light before sunrise.
- ihren
- Their; possessive pronoun in accusative/dative.
- Durst
- Thirst; need or desire to drink.
- gestillt
- Quenched; satisfied or appeased a need.
- Grau
- Gray; color between black and white.
- und
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses.
- alt
- Old; advanced in years or age.
- auf
- On; upon; at the top of.
- Hügel
- Hill; elevated landform smaller than mountain.
- Zeitalter
- Age; era; period of time in history.
- um
- Around; about; in order to.
- britischem
- British; relating to Great Britain.
- Boden
- Ground; soil; earth; floor.
- Äonen
- Aeons; immensely long periods of time.
- vergangen
- Past; gone by; previous in time.
- Frieden
- Peace; absence of war or conflict.
- Krieg
- War; armed conflict between nations or groups.
- in
- In; inside; within a place or time.
- westlichen
- Western; relating to the west direction.
- Hügeln
- Hills; plural of Hügel, elevated lands.
- Und
- And; conjunction starting sentence.
- schaute
- Looked; gazed; past tense of schauen.
- zu
- To; towards; in direction of.
- Denn
- Because; for; causal conjunction.
- kannte
- Knew; past tense of kennen, to know.
- England
- England; country in British Isles.
- Als
- When; as; at the time that.
- es
- It; neuter pronoun for things.
- keinen
- No; not any; none at all.
- gab
- Gave; past tense of geben, to give.
- der
- Who; that; relative pronoun.
- Er
- He; masculine pronoun for persons.
- sah
- Saw; past tense of sehen, to see.
- erste
- First; coming before all others.
- Ruder
- Oars; implements for rowing boats.
- brechen
- Break; snap; shatter into pieces.
- oder
- Or; conjunction offering alternative choices.
- sich
- Himself; herself; reflexive pronoun.
- biegen
- Bend; curve; turn from straight.
- den
- The; masculine accusative definite article.
- Himmel
- Sky; heaven; expanse above earth.
- stürzen
- Fall; plunge; tumble downward rapidly.
- Welt
- World; earth; all people and things.
- enden
- End; terminate; come to conclusion.
- Gott
- God; supreme being in monotheistic religion.
- wie
- How; in what manner or way.
- lange
- Long; extending considerable distance in space.
- ist
- Is; present tense of sein.
- her
- Here; to this place or location.
- Ende
- End; conclusion; finish; termination.
- war
- Was; past tense of sein.
- vor
- Before; in front of; ago in time.
- langer
- Long; of considerable length or duration.
- Zeit
- Time; continuous progression of past to future.
- alle
- All; every one without exception.
- wir
- We; first person plural pronoun.
- heute
- Today; on this present day.
- wohnen
- Live; dwell; reside in place.
- Kinder
- Children; plural of Kind, young persons.
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