The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Up across windy wastes and up
Hinauf über windige Ödlande und hinauf
Went Alfred over the shaws,
Zog Alfred über die Gehölze,
Shaken of the joy of giants,
Erschüttert von der Freude der Riesen,
The joy without a cause.
Der Freude ohne Grund.
In the slopes away to the western bays,
An den Hängen hin zu den westlichen Buchten,
Where blows not ever a tree,
Wo kein Baum je im Winde steht,
He washed his soul in the west wind
Wusch er seine Seele im Westwind
And his body in the sea.
Und seinen Leib im Meer.
And he set to rhyme his ale-measures,
Und er brachte seine Biermaße in Reime,
And he sang aloud his laws,
Und sang laut seine Gesetze,
Because of the joy of the giants,
Wegen der Freude der Riesen,
The joy without a cause.
Der Freude ohne Grund.
The King went gathering Wessex men,
Der König zog aus, Männer von Wessex zu sammeln,
As grain out of the chaff
Wie Korn aus der Spreu
The few that were alive to die,
Die wenigen, die noch lebten um zu sterben,
Laughing, as littered skulls that lie
Lachend, wie verstreute Schädel, die daliegen
After lost battles turn to the sky
Nach verlorenen Schlachten dem Himmel zugewandt
An everlasting laugh.
Ein ewiges Lachen.
The King went gathering Christian men,
Der König zog aus, christliche Männer zu sammeln,
As wheat out of the husk;
Wie Weizen aus der Hülse;
Eldred, the Franklin by the sea,
Eldred, den Freisassen am Meer,
And Mark, the man from Italy,
Und Mark, den Mann aus Italien,
And Colan of the Sacred Tree,
Und Colan vom Heiligen Baum,
From the old tribe on Usk.
Vom alten Stamm am Usk.
The rook croaked homeward heavily,
Die Saatkrähe krächzte schwerfällig heimwärts,
The west was clear and warm,
Der Westen war klar und warm,
The smoke of evening food and ease
Der Rauch des Abendessens und der Ruhe
Rose like a blue tree in the trees
Stieg wie ein blauer Baum zwischen den Bäumen auf
When he came to Eldred's farm.
Als er zu Eldreds Gehöft kam.
But Eldred's farm was fallen awry,
Doch Eldreds Gehöft war verfallen und schief,
Like an old cripple's bones,
Wie die Knochen eines alten Krüppels,
And Eldred's tools were red with rust,
Und Eldreds Werkzeug war rot vor Rost,
And on his well was a green crust,
Und auf seinem Brunnen lag eine grüne Kruste,
And purple thistles upward thrust,
Und purpurne Disteln ragten empor,
Between the kitchen stones.
Zwischen den Küchensteinen.
But smoke of some good feasting
Doch Rauch eines guten Mahles
Went upwards evermore,
Stieg immerzu aufwärts,
And Eldred's doors stood wide apart
Und Eldreds Türen standen weit offen
For loitering foot or labouring cart,
Für schlendernden Fuß oder arbeitenden Karren,
And Eldred's great and foolish heart
Und Eldreds großes und törichtes Herz
Stood open like his door.
Stand offen wie seine Tür.
Vocabulary
- Hinauf
- Up, upward direction.
- über
- Over, above, across, concerning.
- windige
- Windy, exposed to wind.
- und
- And, conjunction connecting words.
- Zog
- Drew, pulled; past tense of ziehen.
- die
- The, feminine singular article.
- Erschüttert
- Shaken, disturbed, moved emotionally.
- von
- From, of, by, preposition.
- der
- The, feminine singular or dative article.
- Freude
- Joy, happiness, delight.
- Riesen
- Giants, plural of Riese.
- Der
- The, masculine singular nominative article.
- ohne
- Without, lacking, preposition.
- Grund
- Reason, ground, basis, foundation.
- An
- On, at, preposition indicating location.
- den
- The, masculine or neuter plural accusative.
- hin
- There, toward, away from speaker.
- zu
- To, toward, closed, preposition.
- westlichen
- Western, adjective describing west direction.
- Wo
- Where, interrogative or relative adverb.
- kein
- No, not a, negation article.
- Baum
- Tree, large woody plant.
- je
- Ever, at any time.
- im
- In the, contraction of in dem.
- Winde
- Wind, air movement.
- steht
- Stands, third person singular present.
- er
- He, masculine singular pronoun.
- seine
- His, possessive pronoun masculine.
- Seele
- Soul, spirit, inner essence.
- Und
- And, conjunction at sentence start.
- seinen
- His, possessive pronoun dative or accusative.
- Leib
- Body, physical form of person.
- Meer
- Sea, ocean, large body water.
- brachte
- Brought, past tense of bringen.
- in
- In, into, preposition.
- Reime
- Rhymes, verses that rhyme together.
- sang
- Sang, past tense of singen.
- laut
- Loud, aloud, loudly, with sound.
- Gesetze
- Laws, plural of Gesetz.
- Wegen
- Paths, ways; because of.
- König
- King, male monarch ruler.
- zog
- Drew, pulled; past of ziehen.
- aus
- Out, from, off, preposition.
- Männer
- Men, plural of Mann.
- sammeln
- Collect, gather, assemble together.
- Wie
- How, as, like, similar to.
- Korn
- Grain, cereal crops harvested.
- Die
- The, feminine singular nominative article.
- wenigen
- Few, small number of people.
- noch
- Still, yet, even now.
- lebten
- Lived, past tense of leben.
- um
- Around, at, in order to.
- sterben
- Die, to cease living.
- Lachend
- Laughing, present participle of lachen.
- verstreute
- Scattered, spread out, dispersed.
- Schädel
- Skull, bone structure of head.
- Nach
- After, toward, following, preposition.
- verlorenen
- Lost, defeated, past participle verlieren.
- Schlachten
- Battles, combats between armies.
- dem
- The, masculine or neuter dative.
- Himmel
- Sky, heaven, expanse above.
- zugewandt
- Turned toward, facing, directed.
- Ein
- A, an, one, article.
- ewiges
- Eternal, lasting forever, perpetual.
- Lachen
- Laughter, the act of laughing.
- christliche
- Christian, relating to Christianity faith.
- Weizen
- Wheat, grain crop for bread.
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