Drinking Song of the sorrow of the Earth
Mahler, Gustav
The wine is already beckoning in the golden goblet,
but do not drink yet - first, I will sing you a song!
The Song of Sorrow shall resound
laughingly in your soul. When sorrow draws near,
the gardens of the soul lie desolate;
joy and song wilt away and die.
Dark is life, dark is death.
Lord of this house!
Your cellar holds an abundance of golden wine!
Here, this lute I call my own!
Strumming on the lute and emptying glasses -
these are the things that go together.
A full glass of wine at the proper moment
is worth more than all the kingdoms of the world!
Dark is life, dark is death.
The heavens are forever blue and the earth
Will stand firm for a long time and bloom in spring.
But you, Man, how long will you live then?
Not a hundred years are you allowed to enjoy
in all the rotten triviality of this earth!
Look down there! In the moonlight, on the graves
crouches a wild, ghostly figure -
It is an ape! Hear how its howls shrill out
into the sweet fragrance of life!
Now take the wine! Now is the time, comrades!
Empty the golden goblet to the bottom!
Dark is life, dark is death!