Kurzer Epilog Lyrics in English Dota Kehr , Rainald Grebe
Ausersehen means 'chosen' or 'destined'. It's a more formal and poetic word than common synonyms, carrying a sense of fate or predetermination.
In the song, the line "Die für uns ausersehen sind" (Who are destined for us) speaks to the idea of soulmates or people meant to be together. It evokes a feeling of profound connection and the bittersweet realization that such a bond, once lost, may never be found again.
"Kurzer Epilog" is a quiet look back at a love that ended because neither person would say the thing that mattered. The very first line sets the tone: one of them kept using the formal "Sie" right up to the end, while staying silent about the closeness they actually had. Everything else follows from that gap between what was felt and what was spoken.
The verses are a list of small refusals. She learned to wait and to suffer. He watched her, then talked about leaving, and she never asked why or where. He heard her laughing with other people and knew none of them meant anything to her. She let others pay her compliments she did not want. "Not a word out of your mouth, you had time. No sound from mine, for I had honor." Pride on both sides, and the silence just keeps growing.
Then comes the line that gives the whole song its ache: she would have followed him into infinity. It is said plainly, in the past conditional, about something that never got the chance to happen.
The last part turns to the summer they threw away. No summer was ever that big or that clear, and they wasted it with careless hands. Only once the game is over do they understand it was the last one. He leaves, it starts to rain, and she recognises the shape of an ending. The closing thought is the hardest part: the people who were meant for us are the ones we never meet again.
The song is Dota Kehr setting a Mascha Kaléko poem to music, with Rainald Grebe joining her, which is why the words feel spoken as much as sung. The delivery stays soft and unhurried, and the long wordless stretches at the end leave room for everything that was never said.
