Hermann Hesse

Thinking Of A Friend At Night

In this evil year, autumn comes early...
I walk by night in the field, alone, the rain clatters,
The wind on my hat...And you? And you, my friend?

You are standing--maybe--and seeing the sickle moon
Move in a small arc over the forests
And bivouac fire, red in the black valley.
You are lying--maybe--in a straw field and sleeping
And dew falls cold on your forehead and battle jacket.

It's possible tonight you're on horseback,
The farthest outpost, peering along, with a gun in your fist,
Smiling, whispering, to your exhausted horse.
Maybe--I keep imagining--you are spending the night
As a guest in a strange castle with a park
And writing a letter by candlelight, and tapping
On the piano keys by the window,
Groping for a sound...

--And maybe
You are already silent, already dead, and the day
Will shine no longer into your beloved
Serious eyes, and your beloved brown hand hangs wilted,
And your white forehead split open--Oh, if only,
If only, just once, that last day, I had shown you, told you
Something of my love, that was too timid to speak!

But you know me, you know...and, smiling, you nod
Tonight in front of your strange castle,
And you nod to your horse in the drenched forest,
And you nod to your sleep to your harsh clutter of straw,
And think about me, and smile.
And maybe,
Maybe some day you will come back from the war,
and take a walk with me some evening,
And somebody will talk about Longwy, Luttich, Dammerkirch,
And smile gravely, and everything will be as before,
And no one will speak a word of his worry,
Of his worry and tenderness by night in the field,
Of his love. And with a single joke
You will frighten away the worry, the war, the uneasy nights,
The summer lightning of shy human friendship,
Into the cool past that will never come back.


Translated by James Wright


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Why Don't You Come Over

VERSE 1
Don't you worry, pretty baby
Everything's alright
Its another day tomorrow
and another night.
You can tell me how your feeling
every single word
I was having trouble sleeping
like the early bird
who just want's to be heard
CHORUS
Why don't you come over
I can't stop thinking of you
Why don't you come over
My heart wont rest "till you do
pick up the phone
your clothes from the floor
the sleep in your eyes
and walk through the door
I'll turn on the light
Why don't you come over
why don't you come over
why don't you come over tonight
VERSE 2
We can sit down at the table
let your problems drown
I know how to get you smiling
how to be your clown
there's no need to think about it
Just come as you are
I'll be waiting by the window
for my shining star
you know it's not that far
CHORUS
Pick up the phone
your clothes from the floor
the sleep in your eyes
and walk through the door.
I'll turn out the light
Why don't you come over
why don't you come over
why don't you come over tonight.

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We Are Not Alone

We were lost in the valley
Midway between night and day
Which way's the goddamn highway??
"The car breaks down"
So, we walk ten million miles
All across some countryside
Until lightning struck the sky
"The rain came down"
Hey!
This house looks so creepy
Anybody home?
Look out! There's somebody!
We're not alone
Up three creaking wooden stairs
An old man with no hair...stares!
Sitting in a rocking chair
"Please be my guest"
He says I'm glad you are here
I have been waiting for years
You see, they land in my field
"Tonight's the night"
Hey!
You'll see...Don't you worry
Make youself at home
Maybe they'll be friendly
Or maybe not, but
Hey!
What if we're all crazy?
What if we're alone?
Then the sky is empty
And we're alone
We are alone
We're not alone
Are we alone?...alone...
Looking deep into the night
We'll see if the old man's right
So far...there's nothing i
"Except frostbite"
Flying low without a sound
Look out! They are all around
Spinning down, touching the ground
"Damn he was right!"
Hey!
We see! We're not worried!
We're not going home
They are green and ugly
Or maybe not...but,
Hey!
They are green and ugly
Who wants to go home?
God! We are so lucky!
We're not alone
We're not alone
We're not alone
(Welcome aboard

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Hey There Beloved

Hey there beloved why are you walking away from me?
Hey there beloved don't you know all those gifts are from me?
Hey there beloved I carried you through your storms
Hey there beloved come back to me
Hey there beloved don't you know I'm waiting with open arms
Hey there beloved I wish you were not blind but could turn back and see
Hey there beloved don't you notice my art?
Hey there beloved my love for you is in every night sky
Hey there beloved look for my love in the sunset
Hey there beloved, the sun is for you
Hey there beloved the coolness of clouds is for your enjoyment
Hey there beloved I love you
Hey there beloved You can walk away

Hey there beloved it makes me cry when you chase other lovers, but
Hey there beloved I'll let you go because I want you to choose me
Hey there beloved I want you to learn to love me
Hey there beloved don't go to them
Hey there beloved they cannot fill you up
Hey there beloved, I'll never give up on you

Hey there beloved I'm full of tears
Hey there beloved I made you for so much more
Hey there beloved you don't have to dress like that
Hey there beloved they don't really love you
Hey there beloved you're more than just a body
Hey there beloved you don't have to try to be something you're not
Hey there beloved I still love you

Hey there beloved you don't have to earn my love
Hey there beloved those things won't satisfy you
Hey there beloved heed my voice that path will destroy you
Hey there beloved you're broken, but
Hey there beloved my heart breaks for you
Hey there beloved can't you see the brokenness?
Hey there beloved why do you ignore me
Hey there beloved.... I love you with all that I am
Hey there beloved, that's everything there is

Hey there beloved I love you with my entire being
Hey there beloved that's grander than the universe itself
Hey there beloved you've strayed so far away
Hey there beloved I'll always call you back
Hey there beloved I'll always be waiting
Hey there beloved I still love y-
Hey there beloved h--
Hey there be-----
Hey--------
H--------

______ ______________

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Frankie

Dark weekends in the sun, out on chelsea row
Descending the stairs, frankie my love
Check your make-up in the mirror
Come on, baby, lets go
Well dance round this dirty town
till the night is all done
Then all the finer things sleep alone tonight
Then all the minor kings lose their thrones tonight
Dont worry about me baby, Ill be alright
Theres machines and theres fire
On the outside of town
Young boys for hire
Waiting to blow us all down
There are strange flashes in the sky up above
Ill spend the night at the movies
With my secret love
At dusk the stars all appear on the screen
Just like they do each night in my dreams
But tonights no dream, frankie
I can feel myself move
Living and dying
Like I was born to do
Walk softly tonight little angel
I wanna be alone with you
Talk softly to me tonight angel
Make all my dream-world come true
I remember standing in the freezing rain
Reading them want ads out on chelsea row
Winging down the street in search of new games
Hustling through the night packs where the actors go
Frankie they are crazy, lets run and hide
In the darkness therell be hidden worlds that shine
When all of the glory in this desperate land
Will rise like raindrops in the palm of our hands
Rise like the rain
Let your sadness rise
Walk softly tonight little angel
Into the shadows where the lovers go
Talk softly tonight angel
Whisper your secrets so soft and low

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Do Not Worry

Take your right hand,
Palm facing up,
And line your fingers
With your teeth.
Hold firmly onto the roof of your mouth.
Do the same with your left hand,
But grip your chin.
Move your hands in opposite directions
Until you hear your jaw cracking
Against the pressure
You put yourself through.
Let your face relax
Back into place.
Let your elastic skin
Rubber-band back into the folds
Sagging over the shadows on your face.
Let it cover your wrinkles
And worry lines.
Then, try again.
Try to unfold your head.
Open it like a book.
Expose your throat to the wind
To let it blow the words
You couldn't speak away.
Split your lips at the seams,
So that a smile may spread its way
Across your rigid cheeks.
Do not worry when your skull
Whacks against your back
And ricochets into the air.
Do not worry when your jaw
Slaps and swings at your chest
By the light current of the breeze.
Do not worry when your blood
Spills all over,
Drenching the dirty ground
And the eyes of everyone
As they watch you
Pull yourself apart.
Do not worry.

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Fictious Love

Your body pressed against mine this starry night
This one night of drunken passion
Your eyes are sparkling as bright as the moonlight
This night is the night I love
Knowing deep down... you love also
Maybe me, maybe someone else, but tonight your love is directed towards me
Tomorrow you may forget
But tonight I can only think of your cool carress
Your tongue intertwining with mine in a passionate battle neither will win
Tomorrow my heart will shatter
For you will love another
I shall not worry about the future though
For the present is all I need tonight
This one night of fictious love

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Hermann Hesse

I Know, You Walk

I walk so often, late, along the streets,
Lower my gaze, and hurry, full of dread,
Suddenly, silently, you still might rise
And I would have to gaze on all your grief
With my own eyes,
While you demand your happiness, that's dead.
I know, you walk beyond me, every night,
With a coy footfall, in a wretched dress
And walk for money, looking miserable!
Your shoes gather God knows what ugly mess,
The wind plays in your hair with lewd delight---
You walk, and walk, and find no home at all.


Translated by James Wright


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Judgement Day

(coverdale/vandenberg)
The night is gone,
The time has come
To find a new day has begun,
An it promises to stay
To soothe the pain of wasted years
An kiss away the bitter tears
A love to light the way
And from the darkness
Comes a smile,
That reaches out for many miles,
Touching everyone.
No more shadows of the past,
Your spirit free to fly at last,
Shining in the sun
Like the rolling thunder,
I feel the power of love,
Its a gift from heaven
And the lord above
We walk toward desire,
Hand and hand
Through fields of fire
With only love to light the way
On the road to judgement day
Take it easy, take it slow,
Ill take you anywhere you wanna go,
Places never seen before
cause I love you, an I need you,
Ill do my best to please you,
My love can open any door
When you hear the thunder
In your darkest night,
Ill be there to hold you
When the lightning strikes
So dont you worry,
You can ease your mind
cause well be dancing
At the end of time
Who loves you, who needs you,
Wholl do his best to please you,
I love you, I need you
Ill get down on my knees
We walk toward desire,
Hand and hand
Through fields of fire
With only love to light the way
On the road to judgement day
So dont you worry, baby
On the road to judgement day
Who loves you, who needs you
On the road to judgement day
So I love you, and I need you
My love can open any door
My love can open any door...

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Power of the Night Star

The sun has set
The sky dusky brown
To remember you all night
I have that much right
To think about you all night
I have that much right
To worry about you
To care about you
All throughout the night
That is my right.
The sun sets down
And out goes the light
The world wears a gown
And sleeps all the night
For I also sleep, in my every heart beat
There is a dream for all that i keep

My night is prolonged
But dawn will come
Our faith love adorned
And spiritual distance not torn
At last my sun shall shine and rise
Oh all, lay down your heads
Close your tired eyes
Listen to loves lullaby
Aside your worries
Every moment happy
Sweetly sleep tonight.
In the night the moon shines light
And stars brighten up the sky
Your presence a star for me, Your smile
In this dark night we live out our life
Your guidance, You show us the right
The path on which with you we ride.

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Down That Road Tonight

Seems like lately we're losin' touch
Work to hard and worry too much
I think it's time for me and you
To get back to what we used to do
We'd steal away on a Saturday night
Meet in the field when the time was right
Just us two and a starry sky
Felt like paradise
I said Ooh Baby goin' down that road tonight
I said it's too crazy need to hold each other tight
Thinkin' maybe the moon stills shines as bright
Like it did back then, it'll shine again
Down that road tonight
Remember all the songs that we used to know
Dancin' in the dark to the radio
Lost in the rythmn, kickin' up some heat
The memories are still so sweet
Time's gone by but it's plain to see
I still love you and you still love me
Let's shake these troubles put 'em all aside
C'mon we're gonna take that ride
I said Ooh Baby goin' down that road tonight
I said it's too crazy need to hold each other tight
Thinkin' maybe the moon stills shines as bright
Like it did back then, it'll shine again
Down that road tonight
Down that road
[repeat to fade]

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Hermann Hesse

How Heavy The Days

How heavy the days are.
There's not a fire that can warm me,
Not a sun to laugh with me,
Everything bare,
Everything cold and merciless,
And even the beloved, clear
Stars look desolately down,
Since I learned in my heart that
Love can die.


Translated by James Wright


Submitted by Holt

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SMILE and it BLOOMS FOREVER! ! !

SMILE! ! ! a NEW LIFE will blossom right before your EYES

Don’t worry! ! ! Smile! ! !

A Smile is an act of Modesty
A Smile sheds on light your Honesty
A Smile is a sweet Escape from Anxiety

A Smile is a precious gift
A Smile gives you a lift
To your sad mood
The Magic Smile makes a Shift

Smile, conquer your inner pain
Don’t think twice, smile
Bring back your inner bliss again
Don’t rile! ! ! Don’t rile
A Sincere Smile makes one’s intention plain

Smile when you’re worry
Smile when you’re in a hurry
Smile when you say Sorry

Smile, Smile for the Smile itself
A Smile is a way to relax yourself

The Reason of the Smile is a Smile
When you smile,
You’ll realize that the Life Worthwhile

Paint a Smile on your face,
No matter the time or the place
Smile and you’ll be always the Ace

Smile, be your delight chief
Smile, erase your grief
Send your Hopeful Smile
The despair is the Smile Thief
Smile and walk on the Hope’s Way
Smile, your Smile Rays shine your Day

Smile, your Tears Of Sadness turns into Tears Of Joy
Smile, you’ll feel the innocence of a little Girl or Boy


Smile! ! ! Don’ Worry! ! !


{December 03,2009}

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Were Lookinf For The Whales

(mags/pal waaktaar)
Night I left the city,
I dreamt of a wolf...
He came from where the winds are cold
And truth is seen through keyholes
...strange longins never sleep
Now hes come where no hearts beat
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry
You can start, but you cannot stop
You give in, but you cant give up
You can tell all your desperate jokes
To a world that puts
Love on hold
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry now
...the sunken-in eyes
And the pain in his cries
A shape in the dark...
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry now

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Cry Wolf

(mags/pal waaktaar)
Night I left the city,
I dreamt of a wolf...
He came from where the winds are cold
And truth is seen through keyholes
...strange longins never sleep
Now hes come where no hearts beat
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry
You can start, but you cannot stop
You give in, but you cant give up
You can tell all your desperate jokes
To a world that puts
Love on hold
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry now
...the sunken-in eyes
And the pain in his cries
A shape in the dark...
Cry wolf
Time to worry
Cry wolf
Time to worry now

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Hermann Hesse

On A Journey

Don't be downcast, soon the night will come,
When we can see the cool moon laughing in secret
Over the faint countryside,
And we rest, hand in hand.


Don't be downcast, the time will soon come
When we can have rest. Our small crosses will stand
On the bright edge of the road together,
And rain fall, and snow fall,
And the winds come and go.


Translated by James Wright


Submitted by Holt

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On a windy night (in answer to T.S. Eliot)

I. It’s Midnight

It’s Midnight
and the wind brushes softly though my hair,
there are long drawn out shadows everywhere
under the street lamps and the bright light

is stringed out in white
beacon after beacon leading for some to somewhere
but to me it feels as if they are going nowhere,
as if this dark night

is endless without form or shape
and one lonely shadow is following me
while branches are caught in a macabre dance
and there’s a chill at the nape
of my neck and darkness wherever I see
while I walk as if in a trance.


II. Half past one

Half past one
and the spluttering street lump did mutter
“so you had your fun, ”
and no single word did I utter

and at my back fear was crawling
as if in the past night
I had done a unpardonable sin and wind was the singing
“do not look back” and above me the stars was bright

but a strange feeling was in me
as if something evil was following,
as if from it I would never be free
and I glimpsed back, in my daring caught a glance

of something without shadow sneaking behind
and I believed that it as a trick of the mind.


III. It was half-past two

It was half-past two
and while walking through the park
I did not have a clue
where I was going and the night was very dark

and a black thinned out cat sneaked past
with green glowing eyes
as if the tranquillity could not last
and all of the past goodbyes

where coming to my mind
of loved animals, friends and you
as if I was blind and never again to find
the place in the world where I belonged to

and with a leap of delight
the cat found something to eat in that night.


IV. The darkness washed over me

The darkness washed over me
falling like a old worn out cloak
and there were known stars that I could see
but with feelings wanted to choke

and it was half-past three
with a strange familiar howl in the wind
and the cat was eying me
as if in me it had find

a close compatriot
who is also a dweller in the night,
but in life I felt like a idiot
watching the bright

lights of cars passing in the distance,
praying for some kind of deliverance.

V. At four I was chilly


At four I was chilly
and did not want to wait in the park anymore,
the cat was still with me
purring much more in love with me than before

and I carried it while stroking it
as if I had found a new friend
and bit by tiny bit
I liked it and it was no fiend

but a tiny living thing
with shiny bright eyes burning
right through me and the wind did sing
the leaves on branches were still churning

and for a time I had company,
and it was great to be alive with something that loved me.

VI. The memory was crowding me

The memory was crowding me,
as if there was no escape
that on a similar night I did see
a glance of beauty peering from beneath a cape

and then it was somewhat chilly
not like now a summer night
and a strange passion did fill me
to see her full face in the bright light

but into the night she did disappear
with white cheeks and the fire of a eye
as if she was not meant to be near
and now with the sun in a bright sky

with a bird calling on its mate
I see her standing at the garden gate.

[Reference: Rhapsody on a Windy Night by T. S. Eliot.]

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Fire Maple Song

Turn away from the pain you dont want
Turning down to avoid them when they call
Strange words I heard a long long time ago
I wish I could go back to a summer time I knew more than twenty years ago=
Cant lay beneath the sheets we lie underneath the maple tree
Now I cant smile
Lying in the grass with the wind around us as we smile and talk
Listen to your grandma sing those country songs
Shed tell us how the maple turns to fire every four years
Wed sit in the grass all summer just to watch the autumn come around
I cant smile now
I live alone and youre so far away
I call you once a year just around the holiday
I still see you in the night lying above me in the grass
I cant smile
Turn away from the pain you dont want
Turning down to avoid them when they call
I cant believe this letter that says you died
I think Im gonna go back to the old house in north carolina and lay in the backyard
Get drunk and let the leaves just bury me
Bury me
I cant smile

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At a pan at night

In the dark night I hear horse hoofs
coming on thundering
and there are sparks
bursting from the quartz rocks.

In the sky
there’s a sickle moon
and the hairs
on my arms raise

while blue thunder
fall like shots around me
and I can smell fire and sulphur
on the wind.

For a moment
while a church bell
rings of midnight in the distance,
there’s a horse standing neighing
on its back feet.

Just one look
frightens me past being awake
when another lightning bolt
strikes down next to us
and a horse
with a man without head
passes me at great speed.

In the distance at a ruin
I see an old woman in white
with a shrill voice
cutting through the night.

“Can nothing stop you
Jan van der Meer? ”

[Reference: Die ruiter van skimmelperdpan by A.G. Visser. A legend from the second Anglo-Boer war.]

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The farmer and his wife (Sestina)

A girl was lying down flat on her back
with a straw hat at eye height over hair,
she was sun-struck, curling and fair
with a rain cloud ominous and black
drifting in a blue sky and a small track
meandering past and it needed some repair.

Some of your makeup is in need of repair,
there’s a guitar bag slung over your back
where you walk pass the girl at the dirt track
with the strong wind frizzling through your hair
and the sky is already turning black
but the evening up to now is fair.

Slowly you walk past the local fair
with some of the stalls needing repair,
the guitar you are carrying is black
and you walk straight on, do not look back
at the whistles of some men with long hair
while home you take a narrow long track.

Watching our horses on the racetrack
you are really sexy and very fair,
our horses do parade with shining hair
you notice that the stands need some repair
and I am standing somewhat at your back
while you are dressed prettily in black.

The highway is like a ribbon that is black
where it meets the old overgrown farm track,
there are huge blue-gum trees some way back
and you agree that the price of the Lucerne is fair
where some cows graze at the pen, needing repair,
swishing with tails to drive flies from their hair.

I pull my fingers slowly through my hair
and there are streaks of grey in the black,
but the cattle are only doing fair
while my love is coming with the field’s track
that must constantly be kept in repair
and I hear her singing over my back.

There were torn out hair a long time back,
when I met my darling and she was fair,
at a fight at a track, I was in need of repair.

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With All My Heart, I Love You

Standing in an open field
Drenched by the rain with only a cap to shield
My whole body shivered, remembering the past
A vivid encounter, hopefully will not last

Saying goodbye was very hard to do
After a long, breathless warm embrace
To the man i have loved many years ago
Our childhood dreams, promises and vows have to go

With all my heart, i love you
With all my strength, i will carry you
These are our promises we hold on to
Our cup of joy filled to the brim overflow

Mountains may walk away, hills may fall into pieces
My love won't walk away from you and will never be broken

Can you see it in my eyes?
it is the eyes of love
i love you, and with all my heart i love only you
If only i have wings to fly,
I'll come and get you without a wink of my eye

I hold on to his promises and vow of undying love
Until we will be seeing back in each others arms
Whispering again those words...
With all my heart..i love you

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