Sieh, diese Stadt
Und sieh, sie ist alt –
Erinnere dich, wie lieblich sie war!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie ist alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort bau'n wir halt
Eine neue Stadt!
Wenn diese Stadt zu viele Steine hat
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
Sieh diese Frau
Doch sieh, sie ist kalt –
Erinnere dich, wie gut sie einst war!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie ist alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort laß uns schauen
Nach neuen Frau'n!
Wenn diese Frauen wieder kalt ausschau'n
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
Und sieh deine Ansichten
Doch sieh, sie sind alt –
Erinnere dich, wie gut sie einst waren!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie sind alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort wirst du seh'n
Gibt es neue Ideen!
Und wenn die Ideen wieder alt aussehen
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr –
Dann, dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
Und sieh, sie ist alt –
Erinnere dich, wie lieblich sie war!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie ist alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort bau'n wir halt
Eine neue Stadt!
Wenn diese Stadt zu viele Steine hat
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
Sieh diese Frau
Doch sieh, sie ist kalt –
Erinnere dich, wie gut sie einst war!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie ist alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort laß uns schauen
Nach neuen Frau'n!
Wenn diese Frauen wieder kalt ausschau'n
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
Und sieh deine Ansichten
Doch sieh, sie sind alt –
Erinnere dich, wie gut sie einst waren!
Jetzt betrachte sie nicht mit deinem Herzen, sondern kalt
Und sage, sie sind alt!
Komm mit mir nach Georgia
Dort wirst du seh'n
Gibt es neue Ideen!
Und wenn die Ideen wieder alt aussehen
Dann bleiben wir nicht mehr –
Dann, dann bleiben wir nicht mehr da!
inviata da Riccardo Gullotta - 21/4/2025 - 00:39
Lingua: Inglese
English translation / Englische Übersetzung / Traduzione inglese / Traduction anglaise / Englanninkielinen käännös :
Tom Kuhn
Tom Kuhn
COME WITH ME TO GEORGIA
Behold this town, and see: it’s old [1]
You remember how lovely it once was
Now don’t observe it with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where they’re building a new town
And when one day this town is old
Why then we’ll move on.
Behold this woman, and see: she’s spent
Remember how she used to look
Now don’t observe her with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where there are new women
And when one day these women are old
Why then we’ll move on.
Behold your opinions, and see: they’re old
Remember how good they once were
Now don’t observe them with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where there are new opinions
And when one day these opinions are old
Why then we’ll move on.
Behold this town, and see: it’s old [1]
You remember how lovely it once was
Now don’t observe it with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where they’re building a new town
And when one day this town is old
Why then we’ll move on.
Behold this woman, and see: she’s spent
Remember how she used to look
Now don’t observe her with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where there are new women
And when one day these women are old
Why then we’ll move on.
Behold your opinions, and see: they’re old
Remember how good they once were
Now don’t observe them with your heart, but cold
And say: we’ve had enough.
Come with me to Georgia
Where there are new opinions
And when one day these opinions are old
Why then we’ll move on.
[1] Elsewhere reports Kalt/ “cold” , nevertheless by the analogy of the following stanzas alt / “old” is a much more suitable word [Riccardo Gullotta]
inviata da Riccardo Gullotta - 21/4/2025 - 00:44
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Gedicht / A Poem by / Poesia / Poème / Runo:
Bertolt Brecht
Musik / Musica / Music / Musique / Sävel :
Klaus Hoffmann
Album:Ich Will Gesang, Will Spiel Und Tanz, 1977
Un anno prima della composizione dell’opera musicale teatrale Ascesa e caduta della città di Mahagonny [ Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny] , Brecht scrisse a Berlino le poesie della raccolta Uncollected Poems 1925–1926, relativamente poco note.
Il brano qui proposto fa parte di tale raccolta. Il tema sarà ripreso nell’opera teatrale citata con il seguente passaggio:” Credo che voglio andare in Georgia/ credo che là ci sarà una città./ Perché non potrei andare in Georgia,/se non c’é niente altro da fare?”.
Sarà ulteriormente sviluppato ne “L’opera da tre soldi”. Segue un commento sulla poesia tratto dal saggio Brecht’s America [Riccardo Gullotta]
Le poesie del 1925-26 parlano quasi tutte della città. Non era solo un’attrazione; era un'ossessione. Perché contestualmente Brecht si sentiva a casa in città e se ne sentiva anche oppresso. Molte delle poesie sulla città esprimono in realtà il desiderio di fuggire dalla città. Questo è il motivo della fuga che è così forte anche in Jungle e Mahagonny. Gli esseri umani si trasferiscono in queste città e costruiscono strutture straordinarie, e poi continuano a costruirle finché non c'è più spazio psicologico per gli esseri umani. Da qui la paura li attanaglia e desiderano fuggire. Ma non possono tornare alla prateria o al Vecchio Paese che è solo involuzione. Devono andare avanti; devono progredire verso un nuovo obiettivo che Brecht non sapeva ancora disegnare. Brecht non aveva chiaro in che direzione il suo pensiero si sarebbe mosso, ma le contraddizioni nella sua produzione sottintendevano la necessità di un cambiamento, era necessario fondare una nuova era perché l'era dell'asfalto e dell'industria ipersviluppata era diventata insopportabile. Brecht non vedeva alcun futuro; vide solo l'attrazione e la repulsione della città e la smania di andarsene, la smania di uscire dalla storia – il che è impossibile. Alla fine previde solo distruzione e disastri, uragani con una minaccia costante e iterremoti in attesa di vendetta contro l'umanità. E di fronte al disastro finale, trovò l'unica risposta: una rassegnazione esistenziale aggressiva.
Excerpt from Patty Lee Parmalee, Brecht’s America , Ohio State University press page 90
The poems from 1925-26 are almost all about the city. It was not just a fascination; it was an obsession. For at the same time that Brecht felt at home in the city, he also felt oppressed by it. Many of the poems about the city are really about wanting to get away from the city. This is the escape motif that is so strong in Jungle and Mahagonny too. Human beings move into these cities and build breathtaking structures, and then keep building them until there is no psychic room for human beings any more and fear grips them and they want escape. But they cannot go back to the prairie or the Old Country; that is only regression. They must move forward; they must progress to some new goal that Brecht could not yet articulate. Brecht was not aware what direction his thought would take, but the contradictions in his writing implied that something had to change, a new age had to be founded because the age of asphalt and mammoth industry had become unbearable. Brecht did not see any future; he only saw the attraction and the repulsion of the city and the urge to get out, the urge to step out of history—which is impossible. At the end he foresaw only destruction and disaster, the constantly threatening hurricanes and earthquakes waiting for vengeance on man. And faced with eventual disaster, he found the only response an aggressive existential resignation.