Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Lenz um Lenz
English translation:
spring(tide) after spring(tide);year after year
Added to glossary by
Johanna Timm, PhD
Apr 7, 2012 23:44
12 yrs ago
German term
Senz um Senz
German to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
This comes from a congratulatory birthday poem, written by a son to his father in 1867. At the time, the family was living in the U.S., but they had originated in Posen. The handwriting is quite clear, but I can find no such word as "Senz."
Lohnt sich wohl die heisse Thraene,
Die das Menschenauge weint,
Wenn im Leben Senz um Senz
Der Vergangenheit sich eint?
To give some further context, this is followed by:
Lohnt es sich zurueck zu denken
An den Sommer, der verglueht?
Ist es werth, den Blick zu lenken
Auf die Blume, die verblueht?
Waren's Weise nicht, die sangen
Bracht' uns Reue je Gewinn?
Was vergangen, sei vergangen,
Was gestorben, sei dahin?
Lohnt sich wohl die heisse Thraene,
Die das Menschenauge weint,
Wenn im Leben Senz um Senz
Der Vergangenheit sich eint?
To give some further context, this is followed by:
Lohnt es sich zurueck zu denken
An den Sommer, der verglueht?
Ist es werth, den Blick zu lenken
Auf die Blume, die verblueht?
Waren's Weise nicht, die sangen
Bracht' uns Reue je Gewinn?
Was vergangen, sei vergangen,
Was gestorben, sei dahin?
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +6 | Lenz um Lenz / spring after spring | Johanna Timm, PhD |
3 +2 | springtide after springtide or as springtime becomes springtime | Helen Shiner |
Change log
Apr 18, 2012 20:27: Johanna Timm, PhD Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+6
9 mins
Selected
Lenz um Lenz / spring after spring
read the S as an L
spring after spring (or something more poetic for "Frühling")
spring after spring (or something more poetic for "Frühling")
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Nicole Schnell
34 mins
|
danke! Nun will der Lenz uns grü-hü-ßen...! Frohe Ostern!
|
|
agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: Frohe Ostern!
7 hrs
|
dir auch, Brigitte!
|
|
agree |
Ramey Rieger (X)
: Spring "to" Spring, perhaps. Happy Easter, Johanna!
8 hrs
|
yes! Happy Easter to you, too.
|
|
agree |
Armorel Young
8 hrs
|
thanks!
|
|
agree |
Coqueiro
9 hrs
|
danke!
|
|
agree |
Horst Huber (X)
: Fröhliche Ostern! // Ja natürlich, danke.
18 hrs
|
frohe Ostern:-)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Vielen Dank! Daran haette ich denken sollen..."
+2
14 hrs
springtide after springtide or as springtime becomes springtime
You may also want to consider the rather more poetical 'springtide' or 'springtime':
http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1170.html
http://spiritoftheages.com/Arthur_Rackham_-_''The_...
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/springtide-2/
"It Was a Lover and His Lass"
By William Shakespeare 1564–1616
It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o’er the green cornfield did pass,
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
Those pretty country folks would lie,
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
This carol they began that hour,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that a life was but a flower
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
And therefore take the present time,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
For love is crownèd with the prime
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180602
William Carlos Williams:
http://www.poetry-archive.com/w/the_widows_lament_in_springt...
Rudyard Kipling:
In Springtime
My garden blazes brightly with the rose-bush and the peach,
And the koil sings above it, in the siris by the well,
From the creeper-covered trellis comes the squirrel's chattering speech,
And the blue jay screams and flutters where the cheery sat-bhai dwell.
But the rose has lost its fragrance, and the koil's note is strange;
I am sick of endless sunshine, sick of blossom-burdened bough.
Give me back the leafless woodlands where the winds of Springtime range --
Give me back one day in England, for it's Spring in England now!
Through the pines the gusts are booming, o'er the brown fields blowing chill,
From the furrow of the ploughshare streams the fragrance of the loam,
And the hawk nests on the cliffside and the jackdaw in the hill,
And my heart is back in England 'mid the sights and sounds of Home.
But the garland of the sacrifice this wealth of rose and peach is,
Ah! koil, little koil, singing on the siris bough,
In my ears the knell of exile your ceaseless bell like speech is --
Can you tell me aught of England or of Spring in England now?
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/rudyard-kipling/in-spri...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2012-04-08 18:26:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
given Nicole's additional posting, I am wondering whether 'spring/time/tide' is meant here at all, and whether instead this really means 'year rolls into year', 'year becomes year', even 'seasons merge'.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2012-04-08 20:28:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
When in life, past seasons merge...
http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1170.html
http://spiritoftheages.com/Arthur_Rackham_-_''The_...
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/springtide-2/
"It Was a Lover and His Lass"
By William Shakespeare 1564–1616
It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o’er the green cornfield did pass,
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
Those pretty country folks would lie,
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
This carol they began that hour,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that a life was but a flower
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
And therefore take the present time,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
For love is crownèd with the prime
In springtime, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180602
William Carlos Williams:
http://www.poetry-archive.com/w/the_widows_lament_in_springt...
Rudyard Kipling:
In Springtime
My garden blazes brightly with the rose-bush and the peach,
And the koil sings above it, in the siris by the well,
From the creeper-covered trellis comes the squirrel's chattering speech,
And the blue jay screams and flutters where the cheery sat-bhai dwell.
But the rose has lost its fragrance, and the koil's note is strange;
I am sick of endless sunshine, sick of blossom-burdened bough.
Give me back the leafless woodlands where the winds of Springtime range --
Give me back one day in England, for it's Spring in England now!
Through the pines the gusts are booming, o'er the brown fields blowing chill,
From the furrow of the ploughshare streams the fragrance of the loam,
And the hawk nests on the cliffside and the jackdaw in the hill,
And my heart is back in England 'mid the sights and sounds of Home.
But the garland of the sacrifice this wealth of rose and peach is,
Ah! koil, little koil, singing on the siris bough,
In my ears the knell of exile your ceaseless bell like speech is --
Can you tell me aught of England or of Spring in England now?
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/rudyard-kipling/in-spri...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2012-04-08 18:26:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
given Nicole's additional posting, I am wondering whether 'spring/time/tide' is meant here at all, and whether instead this really means 'year rolls into year', 'year becomes year', even 'seasons merge'.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2012-04-08 20:28:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
When in life, past seasons merge...
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Nicole Schnell
: I absolutely agree with your additional suggestion. It also sounds beautiful.
6 hrs
|
Thanks, Nicole. Happy Easter!
|
|
agree |
Lancashireman
: w/ Nicole: "When, in life, past seasons merge..."
9 hrs
|
Ah, yes, the missing comma (that cannot be edited). Thanks, Andrew and Happy Easter!
|
Discussion
1. lit. veralt.: Frühling
2. (scherzh.) Lebensjahr Er zählte zwanzig Lenze.
sich einen faulen/schönen Lenz machen (umg. abwert.) nichts oder nur sehr wenig arbeiten
http://de.thefreedictionary.com/Lenz
Please do not focus on spring season alone - there is much more to it in your context and this beautiful poem.