| "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt" | |
|---|---|
| Poem, song | |
| English | "Call it Causelessly Merry" |
| Text | byMascha Kaléko |
| Language | German |
| Published | 1977 (1977) |
"Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt" ("Call it Causelessly Merry")[1] is a poem byMascha Kaléko. It begins with the line "Ich freu mich, daß am Himmel Wolken ziehen" (I enjoy that clouds travel in the sky). It was published in 1977, after her death, and was set to music byHerbert Baumann.[2]
The author had moved with her family from Galicia to Berlin,[3] where she had contact with writers such asErich Kästner,Else Lasker-Schüler andKurt Tucholsky.Hermann Hesse compared her toHeinrich Heine; she had a similar sense of irony, preventing sentimentality.[4] Her poems were published in the newspapersVossische Zeitung andBerliner Tageblatt.[2]
The poem was published byDeutscher Taschenbuch Verlag in 1977 in the collectionIn meinen Träumen läutet es Sturm (In my dreams, a storm is brewing).[2] The collection of poems andepigrams was edited byGisela Zoch-Westphal [de], to whom Kaléko had entrusted her unpublished writings.[2] "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt" was among 42 of her poems set to music for voice and guitar byHerbert Baumann and is the title of a CD recorded in 2011 by singerAlix Dudel [de] and Sebastian Albert.[3]
The poem is structured in threestanzas, the first two with eight lines, the last one with ten. It begins with theincipit "Ich freu mich, daß am Himmel Wolken ziehen" (I enjoy that clouds travel in the sky).[4][5] The first-person speaker lists images for reasons to be happy, some of which are not necessarily reasons to be happy at first sight, such as rain, hail, frost and snow, mentioned in the second line.[5] In the third stanza, the poet turns to herself, saying "In mir ist alles aufgeräumt und heiter" (Everything in me is cleaned-up and cheerful).[4] It ends with the conclusion "Ich freu mich, dass ich mich freu" (I enjoy that I enjoy).[4]
