"What light is that shining there?" "Is day dawning already?" "Loge's legions ring the rock with fire" "It is still night" "Why are we not spinning and singing?" "If we spin and sing   what will you wind the rope on?" "Come fair, come foul   I'll twine the rope and sing" "At the world ash tree once I wove   when from its trunk thrust, big and strong   a green forest of noble branches" "In its shadow   bubbled a spring   whispering wisdom as its waters welled" "There I sang of holy things" "An intrepid god came to drink at the spring" "One of his eyes he paid as forfeit for ever" "From the ash tree Wotan broke a branch ..." "A spearshaft   he cut from the trunk" "In the course of time   the wound laid waste the wood" "The foliage faded and fell" "The tree decayed and died" "Sadly the water dwindled in the well" "Melancholy became my song" "So today I weave at the world ash no more" "The fir must suffice me to fasten the rope" "Sing, sister" "I throw it to you" "Do you know what will happen?" "Runes of honest covenants   Wotan carved in the spearshaft" "He carried it as custodian of the world" "An audacious hero shattered the spear in combat" "In fragments fell the sacred register of contracts" "Wotan bade Valhalla's heroes hack to pieces   the withered boughs of the ash, together with its trunk" "The ash tree fell" "The spring dried up for ever" "Today I fasten the rope to the jagged rock" "Sing, sister." "I throw it to you" "Do you know what will happen?" "Still soars the stronghold the giants built" "With his clan of gods and heroes   Wotan sits in its hall" "A pile of hewn logs   is heaped around the hall" "This once was the world ash!" "When the wood burns bright and fierce   the fire will scorch the splendid hall" "The end of the eternal gods   will then fall for ever" "Do you remember?" "Wind the rope anew" "From the north I throw it back to you" "Spin, sister   and sing!" "Does day dawn?" "Or is it the fire flickering?" "My eyes grow dim and deceive me" "I cannot clearly recall the past   when Loge flared in fiery flame" "Do you know what happened to him?" "By the magic of his spear   Wotan tamed him" "He gave the god advice" "To gain his freedom he gnawed at the notches in the shaft" "Then with the spear's point   Wotan conjured him   to burn round Brunnhilde's rock" "Do you know what will happen to him?" "The shattered spear's splinters   Wotan will one day plunge deep in the heart of the glow" "Ravaging flame will flare from it" "This the god will fling   at the world-ash logs" "Do you want to know   when that will be?" "Pass me the rope, sisters!" "Night is fading" "I can discern no more" "I can no longer find the strands of the rope" "The weft is tangled" "A confused sight perplexes my senses" "Alberich once stole the Rhinegold" "Do you know what happened to him?" "The jagged edge is cutting the rope" "The strands no longer stretch tight." "The texture is tangled" "From need and greed I see the Nibelung's ring rise" "An avenging curse gnaws at my braided strands" " Do you know what will happen?" " The rope is too slack" "If I am to direct its end to the north, it must be tighter!" "It has snapped!" "Our eternal knowledge is at an end!" "The world will know nothing more of our wisdom" "Down!" "To mother!" "To new deeds, dear hero!" "How would I love you if I did not let you go?" "One anxiety makes me hesitate   that I was too meagre a reward for you!" "What the gods taught me   I have given you   a rich hoard of holy runes" "But of the strength of my maidenly inheritance   I was bereft by the hero   to whom now I bow" "Drained of knowledge   but full of desire   rich in love   but deprived of strength" "Do not despise the poor creature   who can grudge you nothing, but give no more!" "More you gave me, wondrous woman   than I know how to husband" "Do not be angry if your teaching has left me untutored!" "Yet one thing I cling to   that Brunnhilde lives for me!" "One lesson I have easily learned   to think of Brunnhilde!" "If you would reward me with love   think only of yourself" "Think of your deeds" "Think of the fire   through which you fearlessly forced a way   when it flamed around the rock" "To win Brunnhilde!" "Think of the woman beneath the shield   whom you found fast asleep   whose helmet you tore off" "To waken Brunnhilde!" "Think of the vows that unite us   think of our mutual trust   think of the love in which we live   then Brunnhilde will burn for ever   like a sacred flame in your breast!" "I must leave you here, my dearest   in the sacred custody of the fire" "In return for your wisdom   I give you this ring" "Of whatever deeds I wrought   the virtue resides within it" "I slew a savage dragon   who had long guarded it" "Now take its power   as the pledge of my troth!" "I prize this as my sole possession!" "Now for the ring take my horse!" "With me he used to run his course through the air" "With me he lost his power" "Far above the clouds in thunder and lightning   no more will he make his way" "But wherever you lead him, even through the fire   Grane will follow fearlessly" "He will obey you, my hero!" "Care for him well!" "He will heed your words" "Often give Grane   Brunnhilde's greeting!" "Shall I then perform further deeds of valour through your virtue?" "You select my combats" "My triumphs reflect on you" "Astride your steed, sheltered by your shield   I no longer count myself Siegfried" "I am but Brunnhilde's arm" "Could Brunnhilde but be your soul!" "My spirit is kindled by her" "Then you would be Siegfried and Brunnhilde" "Wherever I am shall we both be found" "Then my rocky home will be uninhabited?" "It will hold us both since we are one" "Sacred gods!" "Supreme beings!" "Feast your eyes on this dedicated pair!" "Apart, who shall separate us?" "Separate   we shall never part!" "Hail, Brunnhilde, radiant star!" "Hail, Siegfried, victorious light!" "Hail, resplendent love!" "Hail, resplendent life!" "Now hark, Hagen!" "Tell me, hero   can I hold my head high on the Rhine?" "Does Gunther maintain Gibich's glory?" "Your legitimate title fills me with envy" "Grimhilde, who bore us as brothers, bade me observe it" "I envy you." "Do not envy me!" "Though I inherited the first-born's right   wisdom went to you alone" "Half-brother's dissension was never better dissolved" "I only praise your wisdom in querying my authority" "Then I must reprimand my wits" "Your standing is still slight" "I know of good things   the Gibichung has not yet won" "Do not conceal them or I will reprimand you" "I see Gibich's children in the summer of their strength" "You, Gunther, unwived" "You, Gutrune   without a husband" "Whom do you advise us to wed to profit our position?" "A woman I know   the finest in the world" "High on a rock she dwells" "Fire burns all around" "Only he who breaks through the fire can be Brunnhilde's suitor" "Could my courage face this?" "It is destined for one stronger" "Who is that valiant man?" "Siegfried, the Walsung's offspring." "He is the strongest of heroes" "Twins, overcome by love   Siegmund and Sieglinde, engendered this noblest of sons" "He grew up strong in the forest" "Him I could wish for Gutrune's husband" "What deed did he do   to be deemed the most splendid of heroes?" "At Neidhohle a gigantic dragon   guarded the Nibelung's hoard" "Siegfried closed its ravaging jaws   and slew it with his sword" "So wondrous a feat   won him a hero's fame" "I have heard tell of the Nibelung hoard" "Does it not contain most covetable wealth?" "He who knew how to use it   would be master of the world" "And Siegfried won it in combat?" "The Nibelungs are his slaves" "And only he can win Brunnhilde?" "To none other will the fire defer" "Why stir up discord?" "Why do you rouse my desire for what I cannot attain?" "If Siegfried brought home the bride to you   could Brunnhilde not be yours?" "Who could persuade this happy man to win the bride for me?" "Your request would soon persuade him   if Gutrune had previously captured his heart" "Mocking, hateful Hagen!" "How could I capture Siegfried?" "If he is the world's mightiest hero   the loveliest women on earth have long since rejoiced him" "Remember the potion in the chest" "Trust me, who obtained it" "The hero whom you long for   it will bind to you in love" "Were Siegfried to enter now   and drink of that draught   he would forget he had seen a woman before you   or that a woman had ever come near him" "Say now   what do you think of Hagen's scheme?" "Praised be Grimhilde   who gave us such a brother!" "I wish I could see Siegfried!" "How could we seek him out?" "When he hunts for adventure   the world becomes a mere wood" "In his restless quest he may well roam   even to the Gibich shores by the Rhine" "I would gladly welcome him" "The horn sounds from the Rhine" "In a boat   hero and horse!" "It is he who gaily blows his horn!" "With an easy stroke   as if with idle hands   he drives the boat against the current" "Such strength in the swing of the oar   proclaims this must be he who slew the dragon" "It is Siegfried and no other!" "Is he speeding past?" "Where are you going, my fine hero?" "To Gibich's stalwart son" "To his hall   I invite you!" "This way!" "Lay to!" "Hail, Siegfried, dear hero!" "Which is Gibich's son?" "I, Gunther, am the one you seek" "Far along the Rhine have I heard of your fame" "Now fight with me or be my friend!" "Let fighting be!" "You are welcome!" "Where can I stable my horse?" "I will find him somewhere to rest" "You called me Siegfried" "Have you seen me before?" "I knew you by your strength alone" "Tend Grane well for me!" "You never held the bridle of a horse of nobler breed" "Be glad, hero   as you greet my father's hall" "Wherever you tread, whatever you see   now treat as your own" "Yours is my inheritance, my land and people" "May my body bear witness to my oath!" "Myself too I offer as your man" "I can offer neither land nor people   nor father's house and palace" "I inherited only my own body   and that I waste away as I live" "All I have is a sword which I myself forged" "May my sword be witness to my oath!" "I offer it with myself in alliance" "Rumour names you lord of the Nibelung hoard?" "I almost forgot the treasure   so poorly do I prize it!" "I left it in a cavern   where once a dragon guarded it" "And you took nothing from it?" "This chainmail, though I know not its purpose" "I know the Tarnhelm   the Nibelung's most skilful work" "With it on your head   you may assume any shape" "If you long for some distant place   it takes you there in a trice" "Did you take nothing else from the hoard?" " A ring" " Do you keep it safe?" "A wondrous woman keeps it" " Brunnhilde!" " You need give me nothing" "I'd be giving a mere trifle if for your helmet you took all I had" "I'll gladly serve you without reward" "Welcome, guest, to the house of Gibich!" "His daughter offers you this drink" "Were I to forget all you gave me   one lesson I will never lose!" "I offer this first drink to faithful love   Brunnhilde, to you!" "You have seared my sight with your glance" "Ah, fairest maid, close your eyes!" "Their rays burn my heart!" "In streams of fire I feel them set my blood ablaze" "Gunther, what is your sister's name?" "Gutrune" "Are they good runes I read in her eyes?" "I offered myself as your brother's man" "He refused me." "Would you treat me with like disdain   if I offered myself to you in bond?" "Gunther, have you a wife?" "I am not married yet" "I shall not easily win the wife to content me!" "I have set my mind   on one whom no means will ever make mine" "What could be denied you   with me at your side?" "She dwells high upon a rock" "A fire surrounds her home" "Only he who breaks through the fire   can be Brunnhilde's suitor" "I cannot climb that crag" "For me the fire will never abate" "But I fear no fire, and will win the woman for you" "I am your man." "My mettle is for you   if I may have Gutrune for my wife" "I gladly grant you Gutrune" "I will bring you Brunnhilde" "How will you delude her?" "By the Tarnhelm's trickery I will change my shape to yours" "Then let us swear an oath!" "Let blood-brotherhood   be the oath!" "Life's refreshing blood   have I dropped into the cup" "May brotherly love, bravely blended   bloom from our blood" "I pledge faith to my friend" "Glad and free   may blood-brotherhood blossom" "If a brother breaks his bond   if a friend betrays his trust  what we have drunk in drops today   shall flow in torrents   in atonement to a friend!" "Thus I take the oath" "Thus   I pledge my faith" "Why did you not join in the oath?" "My blood would taint your drink" "It does not flow pure and noble like yours" "Stiff and cold, it is sluggish within me" "It will not redden my cheeks" "Therefore I abstain   from hot-blooded bonds" "Let the unhappy man be!" "Quickly on our way!" "There lies my boat" "It will soon take us to the rock" "One night you must wait in the boat   then you can take home your wife" "Will you not rest first?" "I am impatient to be back!" "Hagen, guard the hall!" "Where are they going in such haste?" "Sailing off to woo Brunnhilde" "See how urgently Siegfried seeks   to win you as his wife!" "Siegfried   mine!" "Here I sit on guard   defending the hall from the foe" "The wind wafts Gibich's son   on his way to woo a wife" "His helmsman is a hero   who will defy danger for him" "His own bride he brings back to the Rhine" "But to me he brings the ring!" "You sons of freedom   cheerful companions   gaily sail away!" "Though you deem him base   you will yet serve   the Nibelung's son" "Sounds familiar of old fall on my ear from afar" "A winged horse is coming this way" "It sweeps like a storm to the fell" "Who seeks me out in my solitude?" "Sister!" "Are you asleep or awake?" "Waltraute's voice   so welcome to me!" "Is it you, sister?" "Have you boldly flown here to me?" "Dismount in the forest, already familiar to you   and let your courser rest" "Have you come to see me?" "Are you so brave   as to greet Brunnhilde without fear?" "My haste was for your sake alone" "Then, for love of Brunnhilde   you were bold enough to break the Father of Battles' ban?" "Or was it that Wotan has relaxed his rage against me?" "When I protected Siegmund against the god   wrongly, I know   I was fulfilling his wish" "That his anger abated I also know" "Though he sealed me in his sleep   imprisoned me on this rock   and left me, a maid, to the man who should find me and wake me   he granted grace to my plea" "He encircled the rock with fire   to bar the way to the fearful" "Thus to highest happiness my punishment brought me" "The greatest of heroes won me for his wife" "In his love I laugh today in delight" "Did my lot allure you, sister?" "Do you want to enjoy my ecstasy and share my fate?" "Share the frenzy which has crazed you?" "Something different drove me to defy Wotan's orders" "Do anxiety and fear keep you captive, poor sister?" "Then the god has still not softened?" "You tremble before his wrath?" "Could I but fear it   my anxiety would be at an end" "I do not understand" "Control your excitement and listen" "Anxiety urges me back to Valhalla, as it drove me here" "What ill has befallen the eternal gods?" "Listen to what I tell you!" "Since he parted from you   no more to war has Wotan sent us" "Straggling and astray, we rode to the battle" "The Father of Battles shunned Valhalla's heroes" "Alone on his horse, without pause or repose   he roamed the world as the Wanderer" "Recently he returned" "He held the splinters of his spear" "A hero had shattered the shaft" "He sent the nobles of Valhalla   to fell the world ash" "He bade them pile the logs in heaps   around the sacred hall" "He summoned the council of gods" "He took the throne in state" "By his side he bade them sit, fearful as they were" "In rows the heroes filled the hall" "So he sits   speaking not a word   silent and solemn on his throne   the spear's splinters in his hand" "Holda's apples   he will not touch" "Amazement and awe   strike the gods numb" "He sent his two ravens   on their travels" "If ever they return with good tidings   then once more, for the last time   the god will smile into eternity" "We Valkyries lie clasping his knees" "He remains blind to our glances" "Terror and anguish consume us all" "I pressed myself weeping to his breast" "Then his fixed stare softened" "He was thinking of you, Brunnhilde!" "He sighed deeply   closed his eyes   and as if in a dream   he whispered:" ""If she would return the ring to the Rhine's daughters ..." ""... from the weight of the curse ..." ""... would the gods and the world be freed"" "Then I reflected" "From his side I stole out through the silent ranks" "Secretly I mounted my horse in haste   and galloped here to you" "I beg you, sister   let your courage accomplish the deed you can perform!" "End this eternal torment" "What tales of tortured dreams   do you tell in such distress?" "From the gods' heaven in the clouds   I was banished in my folly" "I do not grasp what I am told" "Idle seems your story to me" "In your eyes, so exhausted   glow flickering fires" "With ashen cheeks   wan, wild sister   what do you want of me?" "The ring on your hand, that is it" "Hark to my words!" "For Wotan's sake throw it away!" " The ring?" "Away?" " Return it to the Rhinemaidens!" "The Rhinemaidens?" "The ring?" "Siegfried's pledge of love?" "Are you out of your mind?" "Hear my anguish!" "The world's woes stem from the ring" "Fling it from you!" "To end Valhalla's despair   throw the accursed thing in the water!" "Do you know what it means to me?" "How can you understand?" "Unfeeling girl!" "More than the heaven of Valhalla   more than the glory of the gods   is this ring to me" "One glance at its gleaming gold   one flash of its lustre   weighs more with me   than the eternal joy of all the gods!" "From it shines like a blessing   Siegfried's love on me" "Could I but tell you what bliss!" "This is what the ring means to me" "Go back to the gods' holy council" "Tell them this about my ring" "I will never renounce love" "They shall never wrest love from me   though Valhalla's splendour collapses in ruins!" "Is this your loyalty?" "Do you thus lovelessly leave your sister in affliction?" "Take yourself off!" "To horse, away!" "You shall not take the ring from me!" "Woe!" "Woe to you, sister!" "Woe to Valhalla's gods!" "Raging storm-cloud   driven on the wind   hence with you!" "Never come my way again!" "Evening twilight veils the sky" "Brighter blazes the guardian fire" "Why does the wall of flame flare up with such fury?" "The fire surges to the summit" "Siegfried returning!" "He sounds his call!" "Up!" "Up to meet him!" "Into the arms of my god!" "Betrayed!" "Who has forced a way to me?" "Brunnhilde!" "A suitor has come   whom your fire did not affright" "Now I have won you for wife" "You must follow me!" "Who has undertaken what is reserved   only for the mightiest hero?" "A hero   who will tame you   if force alone will subdue you" "A monster has mounted this rock!" "An eagle has swooped to tear me to pieces!" "Who are you, dread figure?" "Are you a mortal?" "Have you come from Hella's hordes of night?" "I am a Gibichung" "Gunther is the name of the hero   whom you must follow" "Wotan!" "Wrathful, ruthless god!" "Alas!" "Now I see   the meaning of my sentence!" "You doom me to derision and distress!" "Night is falling" "In your abode   must you be wedded to me!" "Stand back!" "Fear this token!" "You cannot compel me to shame   so long as this ring shields me" "By husband's right it is Gunther's." "With it you shall be married to him" "Stand back, vile thief!" "Do not dare to come near me" "The ring makes me stronger than steel" "Never shall you steal it from me" "You impel me to take it" "Now you are mine" "Brunnhilde, Gunther's bride   now grant me your abode!" "How could you defend yourself, wretched woman?" "Now, Notung, be witness   that my wooing was chaste" "Keeping faith with my brother   separate me from his bride!" "Are you asleep, Hagen, my son?" "Do you sleep and not hear me, whom rest and sleep betrayed?" "I hear you, hateful gnome" "What have you to say in my sleep?" "Remember the might that you command if you share the mettle of the mother who bore you!" "Though my mother gave me valour I have no mind to thank her for falling victim to your guile" "Prematurely old pale and wan, I hate the happy and am never glad!" "Hagen, my son, hate the happy!" "And so love me, joyless and weighed down with woe, as you should!" "If you are strong, subtle and sagacious those with whom we struggle in nocturnal strife will be stricken by our envy" "He who wrested the ring from me, Wotan, the rabid robber was overthrown by his own offspring" "To the Volsung he lost his authority and power" "With all the gods gathered round him in anguish he awaits his end" "I fear him no more:" "he must fall with them all!" "Are you asleep, Hagen, my son?" "The might of the immortals who inherits that?" "I and you!" "We inherit the world, if I am not deceived in your loyalty and you share my rage and rancour" "Wotan's spear was split by the Volsung who slew the dragon Fafner in combat and innocently gained the ring" "He obtained entire authority" "Valhalla and Nibelheim bow before him" "Even my curse is blunted on that fearless hero" "He does not know the ring's value and makes no use of its power" "Laughing in the ardour of love, he is burning away his life" "Our one end now is to destroy him!" "Are you asleep, Hagen, my son?" "He is already serving me towards his own ruin" "The golden ring, that is what we must obtain!" "A wise woman lives for the Volsung's love" "If she advised him to return the ring to the Rhinemaidens who once duped me in the water's depths then my gold would be lost and no ruse could ever retrieve it" "So aim for the ring without delay!" "Dauntless did I create you to keep me safe from heroes" "Not strong enough, indeed, to oppose the dragon which was destined for the Volsung alone" "But to inexorable hate I bred Hagen, who now shall avenge me and obtain the ring in defiance of the Volsung and Wotan!" "Do you swear it, Hagen, my son?" "I will have the ring:" "wait in patience!" "Do you swear it, Hagen, my hero?" "I swear it to myself" "Calm your concern!" "Keep faith, Hagen, my son!" "Beloved hero!" "Be loyal!" "Hoiho!" "Hagen!" "Weary man!" "Can you see me coming?" "Hey, Siegfried!" "Swift hero!" "Where have you stormed in from?" "From Brünnhilde's rock!" "There I drew the breath with which I called to you" "So quick was my journey!" "The pair are following me more slowly by boat" " Then you procured Brünnhilde?" " Is Gutrune awake?" "Hoiho!" "Gutrune, come forth!" "Siegfried is here" "Why do you linger inside?" "I'll tell you both how I mastered Brünnhilde" "Bid me welcome, Gibich's child!" "I bring you good news" "May Freia welcome you in the name of all women!" "Be kind to me now in my happiness, for today I have won you for my wife" "Then is Brünnhilde following my brother?" "Lightly was she wooed for him" "Did the fire not scorch him?" "It would not have harmed him either" "But I walked through it for him, because I wished to win you" " Did it spare you?" " I enjoyed the soaring flames" "Did Brünnhilde take you for Gunther?" "I resembled him to a hair" "The Tarnhelm accomplished it, as Hagen rightly foretold" "I gave you good counsel" "So you overcame the intrepid woman?" "She surrendered to Gunther's strength" "And she was married to you?" "Brünnhilde submitted to her husband throughout the bridal night" "But you passed for her husband?" "Siegfried remained here with Gutrune" "Yet Brünnhilde was at his side?" "Between east and west there lies the north:" "So near and so far was Brünnhilde" "How did Gunther take her over from you?" "Through the fire's dying flames she followed in the morning mist from the rock to the valley" "Near the shore, Gunther in a trice clanged places with me" "Through the Tarnhelm's power I wished myself swiftly here" "A strong wind now wafts the lovers up the Rhine" "So now get ready to receive them!" "Siegfried, mightiest of men!" "I am filled with awe of you!" "I see a sail in the distance" "Then thank your messenger!" "Let us give her a gracious welcome so that she will gladly stay here!" "You, Hagen, please call the vassals to the Gibich hall for the wedding!" "I will call the women to the feast:" "they will willingly join in my joy" "Did you wish to rest, fearsome hero?" "Pleasing you will be my rest" "Hoiho!" "Hoihohoho!" "You Gibich vassals, rouse yourselves!" "Woe!" "Woe!" "To arms!" "To arms!" "All take up your weapons!" "Good weapons!" "Strong weapons!" "Sharpened for battle!" "There is danger!" "Danger!" "Woe!" "Woe!" "Hoiho!" "Hoihohoho!" " Why does the horn blast?" " Why are we called to arms?" " We come with our weapons" " We come armed" " Hagen!" "Hagen!" " Hoiho!" "Hoiho!" "What is the danger?" "What foe is near?" "Who wages war on us?" "Hagen!" "Is Gunther in need?" "We come armed with sharp weapons" "Hoiho!" "Ho!" "Hagen!" "Arm yourselves well and do not delay" "You must greet Gunther" "He has taken a wife" "Does danger threaten him?" "Is an enemy after him?" "He is bringing home a formidable wife" "Are her family's hostile forces in pursuit?" "He travels alone:" "no one follows him" "Then did he withstand the danger?" "Did he win the battle?" "Tell us!" "The dragon-killer overcame the danger" "Siegfried, the hero, kept him safe!" "Why does he need his army now to help him?" "You must slaughter sturdy steers" "Let Wotan's altar flow with their blood!" "Hagen, what do you bid us do?" "You must kill a boar for Froh and sacrifice a full-grown goat to Donner" "But slaughter sheep for Fricka, that she may bless the marriage!" "Once the animals are killed, what do we do then?" "Take your drinking-horns and let your wives fill them with mead and wine!" "With our drinking-horns in our hands, what do we do next?" "Drink deep till drunkenness overcomes you!" "All in honour of the gods, that they may bless the marriage!" "Good fortune and prosperity now smile on the Rhine if grim Hagen can be so merry!" "The hawthorn pricks no more" "He has been appointed bridal herald" "Have done with laughter, valiant vassals!" "Welcome Gunther's bride!" "Brünnhilde approaches with him" "Be smiling to your lady and serve her loyally" "If she is ever wronged, be swift to avenge her!" "Hail!" "Hail!" "Welcome!" "Welcome!" "Welcome, Gunther!" "Greetings, Gunther!" "Hail to you and your bride!" "Welcome!" "Brünnhilde, rarest of women I bring you home to the Rhine" "A nobler wife was never won" "The race of Gibichungs was granted grace by the gods" "Now it shall rise to its greatest renown!" "Hail to you, fortunate Gibichung!" "Greetings, dear hero!" "Greetings, sweet sister!" "I rejoice to see you beside him who won you as wife" "Two happy couples I see here on show" "Brünnhilde and Gunther!" "Gutrune and Siegfried!" "What ails her?" "What ails her?" "Is she demented?" "What troubles Brünnhilde's brow?" "Siegfried here!" "Gutrune?" "Gunther's gentle sister, married to me, as you to Gunther" "I to Gunther?" "You lie!" "My eyes grow dim" "Does Siegfried not know me?" "Gunther, your wife is not well!" "Rouse yourself, woman!" "Here is your husband" "The ring on his hand!" "He?" "Siegfried?" "What is it?" "What is it?" "Now mark carefully this woman's complaint!" "I saw a ring on your hand" "It does not belong to you" "It was snatched from me by this man!" "How came you to get the ring from him?" "I did not get this ring from him" "As you took from me the ring with which I was wedded to you claim your right from him and demand back the pledge!" "The ring?" "I did not give him one" "But do you also know it well?" "Where have you hidden the ring that you wrenched from me?" "Ah!" "He it was who tore the ring from me:" "Siegfried the thieving deceiver!" "From no woman did the ring come to me" "Nor was it a woman from whom I had it" "I know it well as the prize of the battle I once fought at Neidhöhle, when I slew the fierce dragon" "Brünnhilde, valiant woman, do you really recognise the ring?" "If it is that which you gave to Gunther, then it is his and Siegfried obtained it by trickery for which the traitor must atone!" "A trick!" "A trick!" "A most shameful trick!" "Treachery!" "Treachery!" "To be revenged as never before!" "Treachery?" "To whom?" "Holy gods!" "Rulers of heaven!" "Was this part of your plan?" "Did you mean me to suffer as no one has suffered?" "Did you shape for me a shame none has ever borne?" "Then aid me to a revenge such as never raged!" "Rouse in me wrath such as never was curbed!" "Cause Brünnhilde to break her heart if only it will destroy her betrayer!" "Brünnhilde, my bride!" "Restrain yourself!" "Away, traitor, self-betrayed!" "Know you all:" "Not to him, but to that man there am I married" "Siegfried?" "Gutrune's husband?" "He wrung from me gratification and love" "Have you no regard for your own honour?" "Must I accuse of falsehood the tongue that smirches it?" "Hear if I broke faith!" "Blood-brotherhood I swore to Gunther" "Notung, my trusty sword, guarded the oath of loyalty" "Its blade separated me from this unhappy woman" "Lo, you lie, deceitful hero and call the sword in false witness!" "Well I know its sharpness" "But I also know the scabbard in which so serenely on the wall reposed Notung, faithful friend when its lord won his beloved" "What?" "Did he break faith?" "Did he tarnish Gunther's honour?" "Did he break faith?" "I should be dishonoured and disgraced if you did not refute her words!" "Disloyal, Siegfried?" "Did you indeed deceive?" "Declare that this woman denounces you falsely!" "Clear yourself if you are in the right!" "Silence her accusation!" "Swear an oath!" "I will silence her accusation and swear an oath" "Which of you will venture his weapon on it?" "I will lay my spear-point on it" "It will vouch for the honour of the oath" "Shining spear!" "Hallowed weapon!" "Aid my eternal oath!" "On the spear-point I take this vow:" "spear-point, mark my words!" "Where blade can pierce, you may pierce me" "Where death can strike, you may strike me if that woman's accusation is true and I broke faith with my brother!" "Shining spear!" "Hallowed weapon!" "Aid my eternal oath!" "On the spear-point I take this vow" "Spear-point, mark my words!" "I dedicate your dominant power to his downfall!" "I bless your blade, that it may pierce him" "For this man has broken all his oaths and now has perjured himself!" "Help, Donner!" "Roar forth in storm!" "Help, Donner!" "Roar forth in storm to silence this shameful infamy!" "Gunther, control your wife, who shamelessly slanders you!" "Grant time and rest to this wild mountain maid for her to abate her raving rage which some evil spirit has unleashed against us all!" "You vassals, go back!" "Enough of scolding women!" "As cowards we gladly give way when tongues wage war" "Believe me, I deplore it more than you that I did not better deceive her" "I think perhaps the Tarnhelm only half hid me" "But women's anger is soon appeased" "Your wife will surely be thankful that I won her for you" "Be gay, vassals!" "Follow me to the feast!" "Women, lend a willing hand to the wedding!" "Laugh in sheer delight!" "In palace and field today you shall see me happy before you all" "May those whom love gladdens be made as happy as is my elated heart!" "What devil's cunning lies hidden here?" "What wizard's charm has conjured this up?" "Where now is my wisdom to counter this confusion?" "Where are my spells to solve this riddle?" "Alas!" "Alas!" "Woe!" "Woe!" "All my wisdom I passed to him!" "In his power he holds the maid" "In his clutches he clasps his prey" "Though she bewails her shame he gaily gives her away now he is rich!" "Who will offer me a sword with which to sever my bonds?" "Trust me wronged wife!" "I will take revenge on your betrayer" "On whom?" "On Siegfried, who betrayed you" "On Siegfried?" "You?" "A single flicker of his flashing eyes such as lighted on me even from his lying face would make your highest courage falter in fear!" "But shall his perjury protect him from my spear?" "Oaths and perjury are idle words!" "Search for something stronger to sharpen your spear if you wish to assail the strongest!" "Well I know Siegfried's conquering might and how hard he is to kill in combat" "So now whisper wise advice how the hero may fall to my spear" "O thankless, most shameful reward!" "There is not one art I knew that does not guard the safety of his body!" "Without his knowing, I enveloped him in my magic which now protects him from wounds" "Then can no weapon hurt him?" "Not in battle" "But if you struck him in the back..." "Never, I knew, would he flinch before a foe nor turn his back on him in flight" "So there I dispensed with my spells" "And there my spear shall strike!" "Up, Gunther, noble Gibichung!" "Here stands your brave wife" "Why do you tarry there so sadly?" "O disgrace!" "O dishonour!" "Woe is me, most wretched of men!" "You are dishonoured;" "how can I deny it?" "Craven coward!" "False to your bride!" "You hid behind the hero for him to obtain for you the prize of fame!" "Deep indeed sank your noble race when it produced such a poltroon!" "I was a fraud, and was defrauded!" "I was a cheat, and was cheated!" "Crushed be my bones!" "Shattered be my heart!" "Help, Hagen!" "Help my honour!" "Help your mother, who bore me too!" "No brain can help you, nor any hand" "Naught can help save Siegfried's death!" "Siegfried's death!" "That alone can erase your shame!" "We swore blood-brotherhood!" "For a broken bond blood alone can make amends!" "Did he break the bond?" "Yes, since he betrayed you!" "Did he betray me?" "He betrayed you, and you all have betrayed me!" "If I had my due, all the blood in the world could not wash away your guilt!" "But one death will serve me for all:" "Siegfried shall die to redeem himself and you!" "He shall die and you shall profit!" "Immense power will be yours if you obtain the ring from which death alone can part him" "Brünnhilde's ring?" "The Nibelung's ring" "Then Siegfried is doomed!" "His death will benefit us all" "But Gutrune, ah, to whom I gave him!" "If we punish her husband this way, how can we justify ourselves to her?" "What did my wisdom foretell?" "What did my spells teach me?" "In my helpless despair all is clear" "Gutrune is the sorcery that lured my husband away!" "May anguish overcome her!" "Since his death must grieve her, let the deed be hidden from her" "Tomorrow let us blithely go out hunting" "The hero will forge ahead of us" "A boar will bring him down" "So be it!" "Siegfried shall die!" "So be it!" "Siegfried shall die!" "He shall wash away the shame he caused me!" "He shall die, the handsome hero!" "He shall wash away the shame he caused me!" "Mine is the treasure, to me it must belong" "He has betrayed his solemn oath" " His blood shall expiate his crime" " Let the ring be wrested from him" " Omniscient god of vengeance!" " Gnome-father, fallen prince!" "Witness of oaths, guardian of vows!" "Lord of the Nibelungs!" "Wotan, look upon us!" "Wotan, look upon us!" "Alberich, hear me!" "Bid your heavenly hosts hearken to this vow of vengeance!" "Bid the Nibelung host once more obey you, Lord of the ring!" "The Sun sends down rays of light" "Night lies in the depths" "Once they were bright   when safe and glorious   our father's gold gleamed there" "Rhinegold!" "Lustrous gold!" "How brightly you once shone   majestic star of the deep" "Dame Sun, send us the hero   who will give us back the gold" "If he were to let us have it   we would no longer envy   your bright eyes!" "Rhinegold!" "Lustrous gold!" "How happily you shone then   free star of the deep!" "I hear his horn" "The hero is coming" "Let us take counsel!" "An elf has led me astray." "I have lost my way" "Hey, rascal!" "In which mountain did you suddenly conceal my quarry?" "Siegfried!" " What are you grumbling about?" " With what elf are you angry?" "Has a fairy been teasing you?" "Tell us, Siegfried!" "Did you lure to your lair the beast I lost?" "If he is your lover, I willingly leave him to you" "Siegfried, what will you give us if we grant you your quarry?" "As yet I have nothing in my bag, so ask for what you will" "A gold ring gleams on your finger" "Give it to us!" "I slew a giant dragon for that ring" "Shall I give it to you for a paltry bearskin?" "Are you so mean?" "So miserly at the market?" "You should be generous to women" "Were I to waste what I have on you, my wife would scold me" " Is she harsh?" " Does she beat you?" "The hero feels her hand!" "Well, laugh if you like!" "But I will leave you to lament" "For though you long for the ring   I will never give it to you" "So handsome!" "So strong!" "So desirable!" "What a pity he's a miser!" "How can I bear this meagre praise?" "Shall I let myself be thus abused?" "If they came back to the water's edge, they could have the ring" "Hey!" "You merry water-maidens!" "Come quickly!" "I'll give you the ring!" "Keep it, hero" "Ward it well until you learn the calamity   that is enclosed in the ring" "Glad will you feel if we free you from its curse" "Well, sing what you know" "We know of evil in store for you" "You retain the ring at your peril" "From the Rhine's gold the ring was wrought" "He who fashioned it and ignominiously lost it   laid on it a curse   to doom whoever wears it" "As you slew the dragon so shall you be slain   and this very day" "This will be your fate   if you do not restore the ring to us   to hide it deep in the Rhine" "Only its waters   can wash away the curse!" "You wily women, have done!" "If I was wary of your wheedling, your threats frighten me still less" "Siegfried!" "We tell you the truth" "Beware!" "Avoid the curse!" "Nightly the Norns twisted it   into the rope of primeval law" "My sword shattered a spear" "Even if they wove curses into the eternal rope   Notung will sever it!" "A dragon once warned me of the curse   but did not teach me to fear it!" "A ring would win me the world's wealth" "For the gift of love I'd gladly relinquish it" "I'd give it to you if you gave me love" "But by threatening life and limb   even by less than a finger's worth, you will not win the ring!" "For life and limb   see   thus I fling them from me!" "Come, sisters!" "Leave this madman!" "Though he considers himself clever and strong   he is like one bound and blind" "He swore oaths   and does not keep them!" "He knows secrets   and does not heed them!" "A glorious gift was granted him" "He does not realise he renounced it" "Only the ring, which dooms him to death, does he seek to retain" "Farewell, Siegfried!" "A proud woman   today will inherit your treasure" "She will give us a better hearing" "To her!" "In water and on land   I am now learning women's ways" "If their cajolery does not convince   they scare with threats" "And if one dares to defy these   they start to scold" "And yet   had I not given Gutrune my word   I would cheerfully have chosen one of these pretty women!" "Hoiho!" "Have we finally discovered you?" "Come down!" "It is fresh and cool here" "Here let us rest   and prepare a meal" "Lay down the bag   and bring out the wineskins" "He scared away our quarry" "Now we must hear the marvels of Siegfried and his hunting" "I am ill provided for a meal" "I must beg some of your food" "You caught nothing?" "I set out for wood-game   but only waterfowl showed itself" "Had I been forewarned   I would have caught three water-birds   who sang to me on the Rhine   that I should be slain this very day" "That would be a sorry hunt   if a lurking beast were to lay low the luckless hunter" "I am thirsty!" "I heard say, Siegfried   that you could understand birdsong" "Is this so?" "I have not heeded their chirping for some time" "Drink, Gunther!" "Your brother offers it to you!" "Insipid and pale   the mixture has only your blood in it!" "Then I will mix it with yours!" "Now it is mixed, it overflows" "Let it be a refreshment for Mother Earth!" "You are too happy, my hero" "Is Brunnhilde causing him concern?" "If only he understood her   as well as you do birdsong!" "Since I heard women's voices   birds have gone from my mind" "But once you did understand them?" "Hey, Gunther, morose man!" "If you like   I will sing you stories of my boyhood" "I listen gladly" "Sing then, hero!" "Mime was a surly dwarf" "In the grip of envy he brought me up   so that the child, once grown, would kill for him a dragon   that guarded a treasure in the forest" "He taught me to forge   and to smelt metal" "But what the craftsman could not do himself   his pupil had to achieve   to weld the pieces of a shattered sword" "My father's blade I forged anew" "I made Notung hard as nails" "The dwarf deemed it fit for the fight" "He then led me to the forest" "There I killed   Fafner, the dragon" "But now take good note" "I must tell you of marvels" "My fingers were burning from the dragon's blood" "I put them in my mouth to cool them" "Scarcely had the moisture touched my tongue   than I could understand what the birds were singing" "One sat on a bough and sang ..." ""Hey!" "The Nibelung's treasure now belongs to Siegfried!" ""Now he will find the hoard in the cave!" ""The Tarnhelm will help him perform wondrous deeds" ""But the ring would make him ruler of the world"" "The ring and Tarnhelm, did you take them away?" "Did you hear the bird again?" "I gathered up ring and Tarnhelm" "I listened again to the songster   who sat in the tree-top and sang" ""Hey!" "The helmet and the ring belong to Siegfried!" ""He must not trust the treacherous Mime!" ""Only for him is the treasure to be gained." "Now he lies in wait" ""He has designs on Siegfried's life" ""Siegfried must not trust Mime"" "Was this good counsel?" "Did you repay Mime?" "With a deadly draught he came to me" "Scared and stammering he confessed his baseness" "Notung felled the villain!" "What he could not forge he could still feel!" "What more did the bird tell you?" "First drink, hero, from my horn" "I spiced the draught well for you   to waken your memory" "The past shall not slip your mind!" "Sorrowfully I gazed up into the tree-tops" "It still sat there and sang ..." ""Siegfried has slain the wicked dwarf!" ""Now I know a wife for him" ""On a rocky height she is sleeping" ""Fire surrounds her" ""He who can break through ..." ""... and wake the bride ..." ""..." "Brunnhilde would be his!"" "Did you follow the bird's advice?" "Without hesitation I set forth" "I reached the fiery rock" "I made my way through the flames   and as reward I found   a wondrous woman asleep   clad in shining armour" "I loosened the maid's helmet" "My bold kiss awakened her" "Oh, how ardently was I enfolded   in fair Brunnhilde's arms!" "What do I hear?" "Can you also understand these ravens?" "To me they cried revenge!" "What are you doing?" "Hagen, what have you done?" "I have avenged perjury!" "Brunnhilde!" "Holy bride!" "Awake!" "Open your eyes!" "Who sank you again to sleep?" "Who shackled you in uneasy slumber?" "Your wakener came   and kissed you awake   and broke the bride's bondage" "Brunnhilde laughed in delight!" "Ah, her eyes   forever open!" "Ah, the blissful stirring of her breath!" "Sweet passing!" "Blessed terror!" "Brunnhilde   bids me welcome!" "Was that his horn?" "No!" "He is not coming home yet" "Bad dreams disturbed my sleep" "Wildly his horse neighed" "Brunnhilde's laughter wakened me" "Who was the woman I saw walking to the river bank?" "Brunnhilde frightens me!" "Is she at home?" "Brunnhilde!" "Are you awake?" "Her room is empty" "Then it was she that I saw going to the Rhine!" "Was that his horn?" "No sign of life!" "If I could only see Siegfried soon!" "Awake!" "Light!" "Bright torches!" "We bring the spoils of the hunt" "Arise, Gutrune!" "Greet Siegfried!" "The mighty hero is coming home" "What has happened, Hagen?" "I did not hear his horn!" "The pallid hero can blow it no more" "No more will he go off hunting or into battle   nor woo lovely women" "What do they bring?" "A wild boar's prey   Siegfried, your dead husband" "Gutrune, dear sister   open your eyes!" "Speak to me!" "Siegfried slain!" "Away, faithless brother, my husband's murderer!" "Help!" "Alas!" "They have killed Siegfried!" "Do not reproach me!" "Complain to Hagen!" "He is the accursed boar who savaged this noble hero" "Do you revile me for it?" "May anguish and misfortune dog you for ever!" "So be it!" "I slew him" "I, Hagen, struck him dead" "He was forfeit to my spear   on which he swore falsely" "I have now exacted the sacred right of reparation   for which I now demand this ring" "Stand back!" "You shall never seize what is my property" "Vassals, declare my right!" "Would you lay hands on Gutrune's inheritance   shameless son of a gnome?" "Thus the gnome's inheritance is demanded by his son!" "The ring is mine!" "Silence the clamour of your grief!" "All of you betrayed his wife   who now comes for vengeance" "I have heard children cry to their mother   when milk had been spilled" "But no lament reached my ear   fitting for this supreme hero" "Brunnhilde, black with jealousy!" "You brought this disaster on us" "You turned the men against him" "Alas that you came near this house!" "Silence, poor wretch!" "You were never his true wife" "You served him but as paramour" "I am his rightful spouse   to whom Siegfried swore eternal vows   before ever he set eyes on you" "Curse you, Hagen, for suggesting the potion that stole her husband!" "Alas!" "Suddenly I understand" "Brunnhilde was his true love   whom the draught drove from his mind!" "Stack logs for me in piles there   by the shore of the Rhine!" "High and bright   let a fire blaze" "It shall consume the noble body of the hero" "Lead here his horse   that with me it may follow the warrior" "The hero's holiest honour   my own body longs to share" "Fulfil Brunnhilde's request!" "Like sunlight his radiance shines on me" "He was the purest, he who betrayed me!" "Deceiving his wife, loyal to his friend   he separated himself from his own true love   with his sword" "No man more honest ever took an oath" "None more true made a treaty" "He was purer   in love   than any other" "And yet all oaths   all treaties   his truest love   he betrayed   as no other!" "Do you know why this was?" "Heavenly custodian of oaths!" "Turn your gaze   on my great grief" "See your everlasting guilt!" "Hear my lament, mighty god!" "Through his most doughty deed   that you rightly desired   you sacrificed him to the curse which had fallen on you" "This innocent had to betray me   so that I should become a woman of wisdom!" "Do I know now what your will is?" "Everything   I know everything   all is now clear to me!" "I hear your ravens stirring too" "With dreaded, desired tidings   I now send them both home" "Rest now, o god!" "Now I take up my inheritance" "Accursed, terrible ring!" "I take your gold   and now I give it away" "Wise sisters of the water's depths   you daughters of the Rhine   I thank you for your counsel" "What you crave   I give to you" "From my ashes take it for your own!" "The fire that consumes me   shall cleanse the ring from the curse!" "You in the water, wash it away   and keep pure the gleaming gold   that was stolen from you" "Fly home, ravens!" "Recount to your master   what you have heard here by the Rhine!" "Pass by Brunnhilde's rock" "Direct Loge, who still blazes there, to Valhalla" "For the end of the gods is nigh" "Thus do I throw this torch   at Valhalla's vaulting towers" "Grane   my steed   greetings!" "Do you too know, my friend   where I am leading you?" "Radiant in the fire   lies your lord   Siegfried, my blessed hero" "Are you neighing for joy to follow your friend?" "Are you lured to him   by the laughing flames?" "Feel my bosom too   how it burns" "A bright fire fastens on my heart   to embrace him   enfolded in his arms   to be with him in the intensity of love!" "Grane!" "Greet your master!" "Siegfried!" "See!" "Your wife joyfully greets you!" "Keep away from the ring!"