KINDERTOTENLIEDER: ON THE DEATH OF CHILDREN…LYRICS BY FIEDRICH RUCKERT AND MUSIC BY GUSTAV MAHLER: A TRANSLATION

When your Mother
Comes through the door
As I turn my head
To look towards her,
At first my sight
Falls not upon her face,
But upon the place,
Nearer the threshold
Where your dear little
Face would be,
When bright with happiness
You would come in with her,
as usual, my little daughter.

When your Mother
Comes through the door
With the glow of a candle,
It seems to me as if,

As always, you came in with her,
Scurrying around behind her,
As ever, into the room.
O you, little bit of your father,
Ah, too quickly
Extinguished light of happiness!

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