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  • Saltatio Mortis

    Brunhild → English translation

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Brunhild

Auf einer Insel aus Feuer und Eis
Gelegen im nördlichen Meer
Liegt die Frau Brunhild in ewigem Schlafe
Gewappnet mit Brünne und Speer
Ein Dämon des Todes
Walküre Odins
Sie war auf dem Schlachtfeld daheim
Nun umschließt sie ein Ring
Aus göttlichem Feuer
Gefangen auf Burg Isenstein
 
Doch nichts ruht auf ewig
So steht eines Tages
Siegfried vor Burg Isenstein
Er reitet durchs Feuer
Zerschlägt Odins Fesseln
Ist neun Nächte mit ihr allein
Entflammte in Liebe
Nahm ihr die Unschuld
Unsterblichkeit war der Preis
Sie schworen sich Liebe
Und ewige Treue
Bezeugt durch Feuer und Eis
 
Klar wie das Eis, rein wie das Feuer
Und wie der Morgen so rot
So sei unser Bund
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Durchs Leben und in den Tod
Klar wie das Eis, rein wie das Feuer
Und wie der Morgen so rot
So sei unser Bund
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Durchs Leben und in den Tod
 
Getäuscht durch Intrige
Auf seinen Reisen
Nimmt Siegfried Krimhild zur Frau
So brach er den Eid
Verwirkte sein Leben
Und liegt nun als Leiche zur Schau
Zur Feuerbestattung erscheint
Die Frau Brunhild
Getaucht in flammendes Rot
Begrüßt den Geliebten
Springt zu ihm ins Feuer
Und reitet mit ihm in den Tod
 
Klar wie das Eis, rein wie das Feuer
Und wie der Morgen so rot
So sei unser Bund
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Durchs Leben und in den Tod
Klar wie das Eis, rein wie das Feuer
Und wie der Morgen so rot
So sei unser Bund
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Durchs Leben und in den Tod
 
So klar wie das Eis
So rein wie das Feuer
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Bis in den Tod
So klar wie das Eis
So rein wie das Feuer
Wir reiten gemeinsam
Bis in den Tod
 
Translation

Brunhild

On an island of fire and ice
Located in the northern sea
Lies lady Brunhild in eternal sleep
Equipped with armor and spear
A demon of death
Odin's valkyrie
She felt at home on the battlefield
Now she's surrounded by a ring
Of divine fire
In captivity at Castle Isenstein
 
But nothing lasts forever
So stands one day
Siegfried before Castle Isenstein
He rides through the fire
Breaking Odin's chains
He is alone with her for nine nights
Burning in love
Took her innocence
Immortality was the price
They pledged their love for each other
And eternal loyalty
Witnessed by fire and ice
 
Clear as the ice, pure as the fire
And as the morning, so red
So shall be our pact
We are riding together
Through life and in the death
Clear as the ice, pure as the fire
And as the morning, so red
So let us be bound
We are riding together
Through life and into death
 
Betrayed by intrigue
On his journey
Siegfried takes Krimhild as his wife
Breaking the oath
Forfeiting his life
And now lies as a corpse to be shown
To cremation came
Lady Burnhild
Awash in flaming red
She greets her beloved
Jumps to him in the fire
And rides with him into death
 
Clear as the ice, pure as the fire
And as the morning, so red
So shall be our pact
We are riding together
Through life and in the death
Clear as the ice, pure as the fire
And as the morning, so red
So let us be bound
We are riding together
Through life and into death
 
As clear as the ice
As pure as the fire
We are riding together
Even in death
As clear as the ice
As pure as the fire
We are riding together
Even in death
 
The author of translation requested proofreading.
It means that he/she will be happy to receive corrections, suggestions etc about the translation.
If you are proficient in both languages of the language pair, you are welcome to leave your comments.
Saltatio Mortis: Top 3
Comments
VlarkenVlarken    Mon, 13/07/2020 - 08:12

Just a few comments here about misinterpretation of meaning. Most of these mistakes come from small tricky things about the German language, especially with poetry.

Sie war auf dem Schlachtfeld daheim – she felt at home on the battlefield

Er reitet durchs Feuer – he rides through the fire (here you had past tense, where the past tense in German would be 'ritt')

Siegfried vor Burg Isenstein – Siegfried in front of/before Castle Isenstein (I think you mistook 'vor' for 'von' in this part)

Ist neun Nächte mit ihr allein – he spends nine nights alone with her

Unsterblichkeit war der Preis – immortality was the/its price (you had 'it's' here, which is the contraction form for 'it is.' The possessive form is 'its.' A good portion of English speakers get this wrong.)

Sie schworen sich Liebe – they pledged/vowed their love for each other (here you mistook the 'sie' for 'she' when it was actually 'they.' The way to tell this is the past tense 'en' ending on 'schworen.')

So sei unser Bund – So shall be our covenant/pact (you had 'gebunden' in mind here I think, meaning 'bound,' but 'Bund' means 'covenant' or 'pact' in this context).

Durchs Leben und in den Tod – Through life and into death (in +accusative case usually corresponds with English 'into.' Accusative case here shows the direct movement of something into something else, whereas Dative case would denote the static existence of something inside something else.)

Nimmt Siegfried Krimhild zur Frau – Siegfried takes Krimhild to/as his wife (I think this was just a misunderstanding of what 'Frau' means in this context, since the word can be both 'woman' and 'wife' depending on context.)

So brach er dein Eid – breaking his oath (so here would mean in this way/by doing this, referring to taking Krimhild as his wife, so breaking his vow/oath gets this meaning across).

Verwirkte sein Leben – forfeiting his life (Siegfried takes Krimhild to wife, breaking his vow and forfeiting his life)

Die Frau Brunhild – The Lady Brunhild (Maiden is more like Magd or Maid)

Getaucht in flammendes Rot/begrüßt den Geliebten – Awash in flaming red/she greets her beloved ('getaucht' is like 'submerged' here, so I think 'awash' is a good poetic word choice, showing that she's submerged in firelight.)

Und reitet mit ihm – and rides with him (just past tense mistake again)

István ÁgostonIstván Ágoston
   Sun, 19/07/2020 - 18:26

Sie war auf dem Schlachtfeld daheim – she felt at home on the battlefield – actually, I got goosebumps reading my old translation, and this is one of the parts where I question my English, too : D

Er reitet durchs Feuer – he rides through the fire – I’m going to have a German exam soon, so this is a perfect reason for remembering tenses, +1 ThankYou point to you!

Siegfried vor Burg Isenstein – Siegfried in front of/before Castle Isenstein – that’s exactly what happened

Ist neun Nächte mit ihr allein – he spends nine nights alone with her – Here I’d further remake it to: He is alone with her for nine nights, what do you think?

Unsterblichkeit war der Preis – immortality was the/its price – Questioning my English, part 2

Sie schworen sich Liebe – they pledged/vowed their love for each other – upcoming exam preparation points +1, Danke schön!

So sei unser Bund – So shall be our covenant/pact. – you've got it, that was my thought process. Also, seeing how much time and effort you dedicated to help me understand it better makes me feel super grateful, and wonder whether you are a teacher… Anyways, back to the topics.

Durchs Leben und in den Tod – Through life and into death – Yes, and the ‘den’ was the telltale sign. I’m almost proud of the fact, that after reading only your suggestion, I could figure out the reason, without reading what’s inside the parenthesis (exam, here we go)

Nimmt Siegfried Krimhild zur Frau – Siegfried takes Krimhild to/as his wife – yes, looking at it now made me feel like something is off, too

So brach er dein Eid – breaking his oath. – corrected, this so was tricky

Die Frau Brunhild – The Lady Brunhild – I would also remove the ‘The’ from here, what is your opinion?

Getaucht in flammendes Rot/begrüßt den Geliebten – Awash in flaming red/she greets her beloved – I love it, good one

Und reitet mit ihm – and rides with him – done, also edited the ‘den’ = ‘into’ thing here

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