Living
Rollicking Hans
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Songs
HALLO there! A glass!
Ha! the draught's truly sweet!
If for drink go my shoes,
I shall still have my feet.
A maiden and wine,
With sweet music and song,--
I would they were mine,
All life's journey along!
If I depart from this sad sphere,
And leave a will behind me here,
A suit at law will be preferr'd,
But as for thanks,--the deuce a word!
So ere I die, I squander all,
And that a proper will I call.
HIS COMRADE.
Hallo there! A glass!
Ha! the draught's truly sweet
If thou keepest thy shoes,
Thou wilt then spare thy feet.
A maiden and wine,
With sweet music and song,
On pavement, are thine,
All life's journey along!
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Rollicking Hans.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/80/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Rollicking Hans.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/80/.
Read this poem with the Codex →