Re:Lorelei
in reply to a message by Lorelei
Do you know what your name means? It is the name of a Siren that sings on the banks of the river Rhein...Heinrich Heine wrote a poem about it...
I know not what it presages
That I am so depressed;
A tale from ancient ages
Haunts me and allows me no rest.
The cool air is darker growing,
The Rhein calmly flows its way;
The mountain’s summit is glowing
In gold of the sunset’s last ray.
The fairest young maid is reclining,
Enveloped in wonder up there,
Her golden gems are shining,
She combs her golden hair.
And with a gold comb she is combing
And sings a song that binds
So thralling a spell and benumbing
That it overpowers men’s minds.
It siezes the man in his schooner
With woe that pierces his soul,
He’d gaze at the high summit sooner
Than down below at the shoal.
The billows entomb and devour
Both sailor and ship, as I thought;
And this with her melody’s power
Fair Lorelei has wrought.
(Translation by Sasha Foreman)
I know not what it presages
That I am so depressed;
A tale from ancient ages
Haunts me and allows me no rest.
The cool air is darker growing,
The Rhein calmly flows its way;
The mountain’s summit is glowing
In gold of the sunset’s last ray.
The fairest young maid is reclining,
Enveloped in wonder up there,
Her golden gems are shining,
She combs her golden hair.
And with a gold comb she is combing
And sings a song that binds
So thralling a spell and benumbing
That it overpowers men’s minds.
It siezes the man in his schooner
With woe that pierces his soul,
He’d gaze at the high summit sooner
Than down below at the shoal.
The billows entomb and devour
Both sailor and ship, as I thought;
And this with her melody’s power
Fair Lorelei has wrought.
(Translation by Sasha Foreman)