The Souls of Black Folk — Page 9
In song and exhortation swelled one refrain—Liberty; in his tears and curses the God he implored had Freedom in his right hand.
In Lied und Ermahnung schwoll ein Refrain an – Freiheit; in seinen Tränen und Flüchen hielt der Gott, den er anflehte, die Freiheit in seiner rechten Hand.
At last it came,—suddenly, fearfully, like a dream.
Endlich kam es – plötzlich, erschreckend, wie ein Traum.
With one wild carnival of blood and passion came the message in his own plaintive cadences:—
Mit einem wilden Karneval aus Blut und Leidenschaft kam die Botschaft in seinen eigenen klagenden Klängen:
"Shout, O children! Shout, you're free! For God has bought your liberty!"
„Jubelt, o Kinder! Jubelt, ihr seid frei! Denn Gott hat eure Freiheit erkauft!"
Years have passed away since then,—ten, twenty, forty; forty years of national life, forty years of renewal and development, and yet the swarthy spectre sits in its accustomed seat at the Nation's feast.
Jahre sind seitdem vergangen – zehn, zwanzig, vierzig; vierzig Jahre nationalen Lebens, vierzig Jahre der Erneuerung und Entwicklung, und dennoch sitzt das dunkle Gespenst an seinem gewohnten Platz beim Festmahl der Nation.
In vain do we cry to this our vastest social problem:—
Vergebens rufen wir diesem, unserem größten sozialen Problem, zu:
"Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble!"
„Nimm jede Gestalt an außer jener, und meine festen Nerven Werden niemals zittern!"
The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land.
Die Nation hat noch keinen Frieden von ihren Sünden gefunden; der Befreite hat in der Freiheit noch nicht sein gelobtes Land gefunden.
Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people,—a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.
Was auch immer an Gutem in diesen Jahren des Wandels gekommen sein mag, der Schatten einer tiefen Enttäuschung liegt auf dem Volk der Neger – eine Enttäuschung, umso bitterer, weil das unerreichte Ideal grenzenlos war, begrenzt allein durch die schlichte Unwissenheit eines einfachen Volkes.
The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, the boon that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp,—like a tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host.
Das erste Jahrzehnt war lediglich eine Verlängerung der vergeblichen Suche nach Freiheit, der Wohltat, die stets kaum ihrem Griff zu entgleiten schien – wie ein verlockendes Irrlicht, das die kopflose Schar in den Wahnsinn trieb und irreführte.
Vocabulary
- In
- Preposition indicating location or position within
- Lied
- A song, particularly a German art song or ballad
- und
- Conjunction meaning and, used to connect words
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning a or an in German
- Refrain
- A repeated line or section in a song or poem
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or to; used with accusative
- Freiheit
- Freedom, liberty, or the state of being free
- seinen
- Possessive pronoun: his, its (accusative/dative masculine)
- Tränen
- Plural of Träne: tears shed from eyes
- hielt
- Past tense of halten: held, kept, or maintained
- der
- Definite article meaning the (masculine nominative)
- Gott
- God or deity; a supreme being worshipped
- den
- Definite article the (masculine accusative or plural dative)
- er
- Personal pronoun: he or it (masculine singular)
- die
- Definite article the (feminine or plural)
- seiner
- Possessive pronoun: his (genitive masculine or neuter)
- rechten
- Right, correct; or right-hand side (adjective)
- Hand
- A hand, the limb at the end of an arm
- Endlich
- Finally, at last, or eventually after some time
- kam
- Past tense of kommen: came, arrived, or happened
- es
- Personal pronoun: it (neuter nominative or accusative)
- plötzlich
- Suddenly, abruptly, or without warning or preparation
- erschreckend
- Frightening, alarming, or causing fear and shock
- wie
- Like, as, or in the manner of something
- Traum
- A dream experienced during sleep or imagination
- Mit
- With, accompanied by, or using as a means
- einem
- Indefinite article: a, an (dative masculine or neuter)
- wilden
- Wild, untamed, or uncontrolled in nature
- Karneval
- Carnival, a festive celebration before Lent season
- aus
- From, out of, or made from material
- Blut
- Blood, the vital fluid circulating in bodies
- Leidenschaft
- Passion, intense emotion or strong feeling about something
- Botschaft
- A message, announcement, or communication from someone
- eigenen
- Own, belonging to oneself (accusative/dative form)
- Jubelt
- Third person singular or plural of jubeln: rejoice
- Kinder
- Children, plural of Kind; young human beings
- ihr
- Possessive pronoun: your (plural); or personal pronoun you
- seid
- Second person plural present of sein: you are
- frei
- Free, not enslaved or restricted in movement
- Denn
- Because, for, or since (conjunction providing reason)
- hat
- Third person singular of haben: has or have
- eure
- Possessive pronoun: your (plural, nominative/accusative)
- Jahre
- Years, plural of Jahr; periods of twelve months
- sind
- Second or third person plural of sein: are
- seitdem
- Since then, from that time onward until now
- zehn
- The number ten; 10 in cardinal numbers
- zwanzig
- The number twenty; 20 in cardinal numbers
- vierzig
- The number forty; 40 in cardinal numbers
- nationalen
- National, relating to a nation or country (adjective)
- Lebens
- Of life, life's; genitive form of Leben
- Erneuerung
- Renewal, restoration, or making something new again
- Entwicklung
- Development, evolution, or gradual growth over time
- dennoch
- Nevertheless, still, or despite that fact
- sitzt
- Third person singular of sitzen: sits or is seated
- das
- Definite article the (neuter nominative or accusative)
- dunkle
- Dark, dim, or lacking light or brightness
- seinem
- Possessive pronoun: his, its (dative masculine or neuter)
- Platz
- A place, spot, or position in location
- beim
- Contraction of bei dem: at the or by the
- Nation
- A nation, country, or people with shared identity
- rufen
- To call, shout, or cry out loudly
- wir
- Personal pronoun: we or us (nominative form)
- diesem
- Demonstrative pronoun: this, that (dative masculine/neuter)
- unserem
- Possessive pronoun: our (dative masculine or neuter)
- größten
- Greatest, largest, or most significant in size
- sozialen
- Social, relating to society or social structures
- Problem
- A problem, issue, or difficulty needing resolution
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