"Shadow on the Wall"

Happy Halloween!

When day starts oozing with visions of night
When moon’s crescent dances from left to right
Then I come out of shadow on wall, so happy and mean  
I’ll stack together ten streets in row
To follow you wherever you go,
Where all the mirrors exude my venom, and eyes glow green


Your soul will freeze then in my hands,
Like in the cat’s paws freezes mouse
My features hidden, I’m the fog on your way
And you’ll for centuries forget
The sound, the taste, the smell, the colors,
All that makes up the interweaving of day. 


You sleep and dream of me, and that’s all
 For you I’m but shadow on the wall  
 It’s so unwise for the both of us
To disregard the power of roads.
                                                                      
Ah when I died weren’t you so glad, 
You thought that I’m never coming back,
But I sneaked in the cracks between lines and blocks,
I broke open this world as if rusty lock 
I never even liked to put spells, but I just couldn’t stop. 
	

You will recall, you will remember
How you have burned and how you’ve hanged me
I laughed while dying, but I died, Only since
I have come back to tell you now:
You’re mighty sinful, so how about 
You will atone at least for some of your sins? 


When I will roll fur into a stone
When vengeance will sing in my blood and bones
You will receive the bad tidings from birds and winds
But you are the master of water and grass,
You won’t be able to touch me thus, 
And I will fly off in plumage of owl, knowing no boundaries.


You sleep and dream of me, is that all?
For you I’m shadow on the wall  
I hide in moonlight, I hide in air
A leaf taken with storm onto the top.

I don’t feel sorry, the owl calls, 
Steel starts to boil inside my soul
And vice and passion bare their teeth and squall 
And pain’s dancing like witches at ancient ball
I never liked to be resurrected, but I just could not stop. 


When you and I are alone left
Don’t think that I will forget your debt
A nice farewell to you in two voices we both shall sing
Do recognize me by shine of eyes
For you have murdered me more than once
But time divine brings us together again so it seems.


The fallen leaves carnival,
The smile of sword’s aloof and careless
Offences aren’t forgiven ever by the child of wind
I put a trap for you, you fell in 
Your retribution is inevitable                                                 
You know this and so you will be killed. 


You sleep and dream of me, is that all?
For you I’m but shadow on the wall  
Clocks strike though, it’s time to go outside, -
So  go on, come out on the threshold.

You won’t escape your last lesson, dear,
You’re tired of anger, and cold with fear
The breath gets shallow, the grave is near
I never really liked to kill, but I just couldn’t stop. 





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I really but really rushed this one-it’s a loose interpretation, of course, of a song by Kanzler Gui (“how long is this song anyway”), could be done so much better, but- Happy Halloween!

As always it was important for me to make my translation singable. For somebody who knows not how to sing, I’m very persisent, I noted.

And-I really love the video! It’s very Halloween-ish. I think.