I do not bow to you. It is over.
No promise of yours can ever step
Into my soul to rule it over.
We are strangers now, and forever.
You have forgotten that freedom
Is never gifted to deceit;
Yet still, I sacrificed the years to come
For your eyes alone.
Even so, I believed in you,
Hoping to find a soul, a friend, a fate—
And I despised the whole wide world
Only to love you more.
All those moments I remained
At your feet—can you believe it?—
I stole from inspiration itself!
With what will you replace them?
From some deep, thoughtful instant,
From strength of spirit—it’s no wonder—
I might have given the world a gift
And won immortality.
Why did you wish to trade away
That crown so full of glory?
Why were you not, when you had promised,
The person you have become today?
I am proud!—forgive me—it is in vain.
Seek out another love.
For nothing in this world
Can make me live in slavery.
Beneath the southern sky, somewhere else,
I may leave soon.
But we have known each other far too much
To ever forget completely.
From this day on, I will take to joy,
And swear from now:
I shall only laugh and celebrate,
And for nothing will I cry.
I will lie like the devil if I wish,
As I will never love again;
How could I ever love a woman
When today an angel betrayed me?
I wished to die for you, to suffer,
To fight the world entire
So that I, madman, might grasp
Your small and fragile hand—
Not seeing your deceit,
I gave you my soul brimming full.
Did you ever know the worth of it?
Did you?
I never truly knew you.
