# David singt vor Saul · David Sings before Saul

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/david-singt-vor-saul. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/david-singt-vor-saul.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** König, hörst du, wie mein Saitenspiel  
King, do you hear how my playing of the strings
> The word Saitenspiel: 'Saitenspiel' compounds 'Saite', 'string' of an instrument, not 'Seite', 'page or side', and 'Spiel', 'playing'. It names the playing of a stringed instrument, here nominative singular, subject of the clause.

**2** Fernen wirft, durch die wir uns bewegen?  
throws out distances, through which we move?
> Ferne turned into a plural: 'Ferne' is the abstract noun 'distance, the faraway'. Here it is pluralized to 'Fernen', 'distances, far reaches', a concrete accusative plural object of 'wirft', 'throws, casts'.

**3** Sterne treiben uns verwirrt entgegen,  
stars drift toward us, bewildered,
> A dative directional: 'entgegen', 'toward, to meet', governs the dative and usually trails its object: 'uns entgegen' means 'toward us'. It is split here from the verb 'treiben', which stands earlier in the clause.

**4** und wir fallen endlich wie ein Regen,  
and at last we fall like a rain,

**5** und es blüht, wo dieser Regen fiel.  
and it blooms where this rain has fallen.
> Impersonal es bluht: 'es' is an impersonal subject here, as in 'es regnet', 'it is raining'. 'es bluht' means 'there is blooming', with no named grammatical subject doing the blooming.


**6** Mädchen blühen, die du noch erkannt,  
Girls are in bloom whom you once knew,
> To know: 'erkennen' means 'to recognize, to know'. In Luther's Bible it also carries the older sense 'to know' a person carnally. 'erkannt' is its past participle, agreeing with 'die', 'whom'.

**7** die jetzt Frauen sind und mich verführen;  
who now are women and seduce me;

**8** den Geruch der Jungfraun kannst du spüren,  
the scent of the maidens you can sense,
> Genitive plural der Jungfraun: 'der Jungfraun' is the genitive plural of 'die Jungfrau', 'maiden, virgin', elided from 'Jungfrauen' to 'Jungfraun' for the metre. The genitive depends on 'Geruch', 'scent': 'the scent of the maidens'.

**9** und die Knaben stehen, angespannt  
and the youths stand, taut,

**10** schlank und atmend, an verschwiegnen Türen.  
slender and breathing, at hushed doors.
> Discreet, hushed: 'verschwiegen' means 'silent about something, discreet, that keeps a secret', from 'schweigen', 'to be silent'. The e of 'verschwiegenen' is dropped to 'verschwiegnen', dative plural after 'an', for the metre.


**11** Daß mein Klang dir alles wiederbrächte.  
If only my sound could bring it all back to you.
> Past subjunctive wish: 'wiederbrachte' is the Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of the separable verb 'wiederbringen', 'to bring back'. A bare 'Daß' clause in the subjunctive expresses an unfulfilled wish. The dative 'dir' means 'to you'.

**12** Aber trunken taumelt mein Getön:  
But drunken, my sounding reels:
> The word Geton: 'Geton' is a collective noun formed with the 'Ge-' prefix from 'Ton', 'tone, sound': 'a mass of sound'. This 'Ge-' pattern bundles a repeated action or noise into one noun, compare 'Gerede', 'chatter'.

**13** Deine Nächte, König, deine Nächte–,  
Your nights, King, your nights—,

**14** und wie waren, die dein Schaffen schwächte,  
and how they were, those your making weakened,
> Object before subject in the clause: 'die', the relative pronoun, is the accusative object; 'dein Schaffen', 'your creating', is the subject; 'schwachte', 'weakened', past tense, closes the clause. German allows the object to lead a relative clause for emphasis.

**15** o wie waren alle Leiber schön.  
oh how beautiful all the bodies were.
> Leib turned into a plural: 'Leib' means the body as living flesh, distinct from the neutral 'Korper'. Its plural is 'Leiber', nominative here, subject of 'waren': 'all the bodies were'.


**16** Dein Erinnern glaub ich zu begleiten,  
Your remembering I believe I accompany,
> Nominalized verb das Erinnern: Any German infinitive can become a neuter noun: 'erinnern', 'to remember', becomes 'das Erinnern', 'the remembering'. Capitalized and preceded by 'dein', 'your', it is the accusative object of 'begleiten', 'to accompany'.

**17** weil ich ahne. Doch auf welchen Saiten  
because I sense it. But on which strings
> weil sends the verb to the end: 'weil', 'because', is a subordinating conjunction, so its finite verb moves to the clause's end: 'weil ich ahne' means 'because I sense it'. 'ahnen' means to feel or guess at something obscurely.

**18** greif ich dir ihr dunkles Lustgestöhn?–  
do I pluck for you their dark moan of pleasure?—
> The word Lustgestohn: 'Lustgestohn' compounds 'Lust', 'desire, pleasure', with 'Gestohn', the 'Ge-' collective of 'stohnen', 'to moan': 'a moaning of pleasure'. 'greifen' means both 'to grasp' and, of an instrument, 'to finger or strike a note'.


## II


**19** König, der du alles dieses hattest  
King, you who had all of this
> Relative agreeing with you: In elevated address, a person spoken to in the second person takes the relative 'der, du ...' with a second person verb: 'Konig, der du ... hattest' means 'King, you who had ...'. 'hattest' stays in the du form though its pronoun is 'der'.

**20** und der du mit lauter Leben mich  
and you who with sheer life
> Sheer, nothing but: Indeclinable 'lauter' means 'nothing but, pure, sheer': 'mit lauter Leben' means 'with nothing but life'. Do not confuse it with the adjective 'laut', 'loud', which does decline.

**21** überwältigest und überschattest:  
overpower and overshadow me:
> Inseparable uber verbs: In 'uberwaltigen', 'to overpower', the prefix 'uber-' is inseparable and unstressed, so the verb stays whole: 'du uberwaltigest mich', not a split form. The '-est' ending is an older, fuller du form.

**22** komm aus deinem Throne und zerbrich  
come down from your throne and shatter
> Imperatives komm and zerbrich: Both are familiar singular commands. 'komm', from 'kommen', drops the ending. 'zerbrich', from 'zerbrechen', 'to smash to pieces', shows the strong verb vowel shift e to i that such verbs take in the du imperative, compare 'gib', 'nimm'.

**23** meine Harfe, die du so ermattest.  
my harp, which you so exhaust.


**24** Sie ist wie ein abgenommner Baum:  
It is like a tree picked bare:
> Picked, harvested: 'abgenommner' is the past participle of separable 'abnehmen', 'to take off or down', contracted from 'abgenommener' for the line. 'ein abgenommner Baum' means 'a tree whose fruit has been picked off'.

**25** durch die Zweige, die dir Frucht getragen,  
through the branches that bore you fruit,
> Dropped auxiliary haben getragen: 'getragen' is the past participle of 'tragen', 'to bear, carry'; in a relative clause the auxiliary 'haben' can be left out in verse: 'die dir Frucht getragen (haben)', 'that have borne you fruit'. 'dir' is the dative of advantage.

**26** schaut jetzt eine Tiefe wie von Tagen,  
now a depth peers in as if of days

**27** welche kommen–, und ich kenn sie kaum.  
that are coming—, and I scarcely know them.
> welche as a relative pronoun: 'welche' here is a relative pronoun, an elevated alternative to 'die': 'Tagen, welche kommen' means 'days that are coming'. 'kenn' is elided from 'kenne', first person singular of 'kennen'.


**28** Laß mich nicht mehr bei der Harfe schlafen;  
Let me sleep no longer by the harp;
> lassen plus infinitive, to let: 'lassen' plus a bare infinitive means 'to let, to allow someone to do something': 'Laß mich ... schlafen' means 'let me sleep', with the infinitive sent to the end. 'Laß' is the du imperative, spelled here with 'ß'.

**29** sich dir diese Knabenhand da an:  
look at this boy's hand here:
> Separable ansehen, and a printed sich: The sense here is the du imperative of separable 'ansehen', 'to look at': 'sieh dir ... an' means 'take a look at ... for yourself', the prefix 'an' at the clause's end with reflexive dative 'dir'. The cached text prints 'sich'; the established reading is 'sieh'.

**30** glaubst du, König, daß sie die Oktaven  
do you believe, King, that it the octaves
> daß drives the verb to the end: 'daß', 'that', is subordinating, so the finite verb 'kann' moves to the very end, across the line break. 'sie' refers to 'Knabenhand'; 'greifen' of a hand means 'to reach or grasp', of music 'to span an interval'.

**31** eines Leibes noch nicht greifen kann?  
of a body cannot yet span?


## III


**32** König, birgst du dich in Finsternissen,  
King, though you hide yourself in darknesses,
> To hide oneself: 'bergen' means 'to shelter, conceal, salvage'; reflexive 'sich bergen' means 'to hide, to take refuge'. It is a strong verb with the vowel shift e to i in the du form: 'du birgst dich'.

**33** und ich hab dich doch in der Gewalt.  
still I have you in my power.
> Still, nonetheless: 'doch' is a flavoring particle meaning 'yet, still, all the same', adding contrast without changing the sentence's grammar. 'in der Gewalt haben' is the fixed idiom 'to have in one's power'.

**34** Sieh, mein festes Lied ist nicht gerissen,  
Look, my firm song is not torn,

**35** und der Raum wird um uns beide kalt.  
and the space grows cold around us both.

**36** Mein verwaistes Herz und dein verworrnes  
My orphaned heart and your tangled one
> verwaist versus verworren: 'verwaist' means 'orphaned, forsaken', from 'Waise', 'orphan'; 'verworren' means 'tangled, confused'. 'dein verworrnes' stands for 'dein verworrnes Herz', the noun 'Herz' omitted but understood from the line before.

**37** hängen in den Wolken deines Zornes,  
hang in the clouds of your wrath,
> Genitive deines Zornes: 'deines Zornes' is the genitive of 'dein Zorn', 'your anger', the strong masculine genitive taking the ending '-es'. It depends on 'die Wolken', 'the clouds': 'the clouds of your wrath'.

**38** wütend ineinander eingebissen  
furiously bitten into each other
> Into one another: 'ineinander' means 'into one another', built from 'in' plus 'einander', 'each other'. 'eingebissen' is the past participle of 'sich einbeißen', 'to bite or sink into', paired with the adverb 'wutend', 'furiously'.

**39** und zu einem einzigen verkrallt.  
and clawed into a single one.
> To dig claws in: From 'Kralle', 'claw', 'sich verkrallen' means 'to dig one's claws in, to clutch fiercely'. 'zu einem einzigen verkrallt' means 'clawed together into a single one', the phrase 'zu einem einzigen' marking the result of the action.


**40** Fühlst du jetzt, wie wir uns umgestalten?  
Do you feel now how we are transforming?
> To be transformed: 'umgestalten' means 'to reshape, transform', from 'um-', change, plus 'gestalten', 'to shape'. Reflexive 'sich umgestalten' means 'to change shape'; 'wie wir uns umgestalten' means 'how we are reshaping ourselves'.

**41** König, König, das Gewicht wird Geist.  
King, King, the weight becomes spirit.
> werden plus bare noun, to become: 'werden' means 'to become'; the thing one becomes follows as a bare predicate noun with no article: 'das Gewicht wird Geist' means 'the weight becomes spirit'. Both nouns are nominative.

**42** Wenn wir uns nur aneinanderhalten,  
If only we hold fast to each other,
> If only: 'wenn ... nur' frames a wish or condition: 'if only'. The separable verb 'aneinanderhalten', 'to hold on to one another', keeps its whole form at the end of this wenn clause. Reflexive 'uns' here means 'each other'.

**43** du am Jungen, König, ich am Alten,  
you to the young one, King, I to the old one,
> Adjectives used as nouns: 'am' contracts 'an dem', 'on or to the'. 'der Junge' and 'der Alte' are adjectives turned into nouns, 'the young one' and 'the old one', each dative singular after 'am'.

**44** sind wir fast wie ein Gestirn, das kreist.  
we are almost like a constellation, wheeling.
> The word Gestirn: 'Gestirn' is a heavenly body or constellation, the 'Ge-' collective of 'Stern', 'star'. 'das kreist', 'that circles, wheels', is a relative clause modifying 'Gestirn', with 'kreist' the third person singular of 'kreisen'.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.