The Lament of Brunnhilde
(based on The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner)
Oh Siegfried, here you lay motionless and cold,
All the light and warmth of life have forsaken you.
Your golden eyes with the sun's brilliance,
Are closed forever by death's gentle hands.
And you glorious deeds, you marvellous tales,
They too shall be swept away and slowly fade.
Siegfried, do you know I swore an oath
On the very spear that slew you
To avenge the wrongs you did me?
Oh, how my rage flamed then! But now my revenge is made
All that left to me is endless heartache!
Siegfried, why have we parted?
Why have we become estranged?
With a heart most true and honest,
You betrayed me, and set me in a deadly trap;
With a love most faithful and deep,
You abandoned me to be some other man's bride!
Oh Siegfried, we have fought through
Both danger and toil, but now,
A web of conceits ensnared us both.
Immortal power and everlasting joy
I forsook for you, but all my sacrifices
Have led us to the bitterest end!
But I blame you not, my hero.
It is I who sent you on this journey,
And all the wisdom I lent you,
All the magic I wove about you,
Could not protect you from
Fate that toyed you between her palms!
Oh Siegfried, you are a man strong,
Valiant and glorious. But to others,
To those who strive in high seats of power,
You are a mere tool.
They wish to conquer you,
And hold youto their own purposes.
All of those I caught but glimpses before,
But now I see them clearly.
Words of daunt they said to you;
Draught of forgetfulness they gave to you.
They desire the ring you have given to me,
The cursed ring that poisoned all with its dark power!
But nay! That was not your lot, my Siegfried!
You wielded the noble sword,
To you own heart and will.
Let Fate besiege you with all her might!
You may have lost the battle,
But the final victory shall be ours.
Hear me! Ye who dwell up in the sky and below!
Almighty Wotan in your glittering halls,
No more shall the heroes defend your great walls.
And Nibelung in the deep folds of earth,
Your riches shall flow away like water,
And your time will end!
The wise Norns who weave the world,
Let your golden ropes of Fate
Fray and break its golden thread!
It's time for the world and its people
To seek their own fate,
And bear their own history.
And this ring! This cursed ring that devoured all,
It shall return to the watery bed it once slept in.
The world need no such power of dominance
To bind all beings free and joyous.
And no such temptation should remain
To poison and corrupt even the greatest.
Let this age of sorrows pass away!
Let all those seeking power be gone!
Let the free be free anew,
Let the fair be fair again!
All those broken and destroyed shall heal,
The dawn of a new age is well nigh.
And Siegfried, let us pass into the flame together!
Valhalla's glory I once sacrificed for you,
Now life's grace I too shall dismiss.
Come, let us leave this world together,
With all that are passing away.
And beyond the circles of world we shall meet again!