ENGLISH
works were banned during the Third Reich. However, Die Loreley was so popular that it overcame eradication and lived on, however written by an “unknown author”.
The Lorelei translated by Orlaith Connolly
I do not know, what should it mean that I am so forlorn? From my mind I cannot keep, This fairytale of yore. The air is cool and as it grows dark, The Rhine silently ebbs its course. Yet the cliff’s summit sparkles In the last of the evening light. Up yonder perches a maiden So exquisite and sublime Golden jewels all a-glisten, Attending her golden locks. She grooms her hair with a comb of gold Singing a song all the while of astounding, spellbinding melody By which the skipper in his small ship Is seized with savage woe, He no longer looks upon her rocky reef, But direct into the heavens. In the end, I believe the waves gobble up both sailor and his barge By virtue of violence of song Of the enchanting Lorelei. 17
