The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 8
Even as she spoke she was not,
Noch während sie sprach, war sie nicht mehr,
Nor any word said he,
Noch sprach er irgendein Wort,
He only heard, still as he stood
Er hörte nur, still wie er stand
Under the old night's nodding hood,
Unter der alten Nacht nickendem Dunkel,
The sea-folk breaking down the wood
Das Seevolk, das den Wald niederbricht
Like a high tide from sea.
Wie eine hohe Flut vom Meer.
He only heard the heathen men,
Er hörte nur die heidnischen Männer,
Whose eyes are blue and bleak,
Deren Augen blau und kalt sind,
Singing about some cruel thing
Singend von einer grausamen Tat
Done by a great and smiling king
Begangen von einem großen und lächelnden König
In daylight on a deck.
Bei Tageslicht auf einem Deck.
He only heard the heathen men,
Er hörte nur die heidnischen Männer,
Whose eyes are blue and blind,
Deren Augen blau und blind sind,
Singing what shameful things are done
Singend, welch schändliche Dinge geschehen
Between the sunlit sea and the sun
Zwischen dem sonnenbeschienenen Meer und der Sonne
When the land is left behind.
Wenn das Land zurückgelassen wird.
Vocabulary
- Noch
- Still, yet; indicates continuation of a state
- während
- While, during; indicates simultaneity of actions
- sie
- She, they, or formal you pronoun
- sprach
- Spoke; past tense of sprechen (to speak)
- war
- Was; past tense of sein (to be)
- nicht
- Not; primary negation word in German
- mehr
- More, anymore; indicates greater quantity or continuation
- er
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun
- irgendein
- Any, some; refers to an unspecified single thing
- Wort
- Word; a single unit of spoken or written language
- Er
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun (capitalized)
- hörte
- Heard; past tense of hören (to hear)
- nur
- Only, just; limits or restricts scope of statement
- still
- Silent, quiet, still; without sound or movement
- wie
- How, like, as; used for comparison or manner
- stand
- Stood; past tense of stehen (to stand)
- Unter
- Under, beneath, among; preposition indicating position below
- der
- The; definite article for masculine or genitive feminine
- alten
- Old; adjective in declined form referring to age
- Nacht
- Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise
- nickendem
- Nodding; adjective form of nicken in dative case
- Dunkel
- Darkness; absence of light, often used poetically
- Das
- The; definite article for neuter nouns in German
- Seevolk
- Sea people; a seafaring nation or group of people
- das
- The or that; neuter definite article or relative pronoun
- den
- The; definite article in accusative or dative case
- Wald
- Forest, woods; a large area covered with trees
- niederbricht
- Breaks down, crushes; third person singular of niederbrechen
- Wie
- How, like, as; comparison or exclamation word
- eine
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns
- hohe
- High, tall; adjective describing great height or elevation
- Flut
- Flood, tide; rising body of water or high tide
- vom
- From the; contraction of von and dem
- Meer
- Sea, ocean; large body of saltwater
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- heidnischen
- Pagan, heathen; relating to non-Christian or non-Abrahamic people
- Männer
- Men; plural of Mann, adult male persons
- Deren
- Whose, their; genitive relative pronoun referring to people
- Augen
- Eyes; plural of Auge, the organs of sight
- blau
- Blue; the color of the sky or ocean
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words, phrases, or clauses
- kalt
- Cold; low temperature, also used metaphorically for emotion
- sind
- Are; third person plural of sein (to be)
- Singend
- Singing; present participle of singen, used as adjective
- von
- Of, from, by; common preposition indicating origin or possession
- einer
- A, one; indefinite article in dative feminine case
- grausamen
- Cruel, gruesome; adjective describing brutal or horrifying action
- Tat
- Deed, act; an action or thing that was done
- Begangen
- Committed; past participle of begehen, to commit an act
- einem
- A, one; indefinite article in dative masculine or neuter
- großen
- Great, large; declined adjective indicating size or importance
- lächelnden
- Smiling; declined present participle of lächeln used adjectivally
- König
- King; a male monarch ruling over a kingdom
- Bei
- At, near, by, with; preposition indicating proximity or occasion
- Tageslicht
- Daylight; the natural light present during daytime hours
- auf
- On, onto, at; preposition indicating surface or direction
- Deck
- Deck; the flat surface or floor of a ship
- blind
- Blind; unable to see, or metaphorically unaware
- welch
- What, which; exclamatory or interrogative pronoun or adjective
- schändliche
- Disgraceful, shameful; describing morally reprehensible actions
- Dinge
- Things; plural of Ding, referring to objects or matters
- geschehen
- Happened, occurred; infinitive or past participle of geschehen
- Zwischen
- Between, among; preposition indicating position amid two things
- dem
- The; definite article in dative masculine or neuter case
- sonnenbeschienenen
- Sun-drenched, sunlit; adjective describing something bathed in sunlight
- Sonne
- Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- Wenn
- When, if; conjunction introducing conditional or temporal clauses
- Land
- Land, country; solid ground or a nation's territory
- zurückgelassen
- Left behind; past participle of zurücklassen, to leave behind
- wird
- Becomes, will be; third person singular of werden
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