Literal:
All my companions, one by one died
With Angel of Death they now reside
In the banquette of life same wine we tried
A few cups back, they fell to the side.
Meaning:
In the feast of life vulgar and chaste
The same temporal wine must taste
Some stay longer, some leave in haste
To focus upon the end is but waste.
Fitzgerald:
Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to Rest.
German:
Ja, alle Freunde, die zu Song und Wort
Vor uns versammelt sich am trauten Ort
Sowei, drei Runden, tranken ihren, Becher
Und gingen einer nach dem andern fort.
Pithecanthropus Erectus