by Johann Carl Wilhelm Wiedenfeld (1801 - 1860)
Translation Singable translation by Francis L. Soper
Pretty flow'r, pray tell me why
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Pretty flow'r, pray tell me why All your leaves do open wide, Ev'ry morning, when on high The noble sun begins to ride, The noble sun begins to ride. This is why, my lady fair, If you would the reason know, For betimes the pleasant air Very cheerfully doth blow, Very cheerfully doth blow. And the birds on ev'ry tree, Sing a merry, merry tune, And the busy honey bee Comes to sip my honey soon, Comes to sip my honey soon. This is all the reason why I my little leaves undo; Lady, lady, wake and try If I have not told you true, If I have not told you true.
Note: Soper's text is not even remotely faithful to the German original.
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
Authorship:
- Singable translation by Francis L. Soper , "Pretty flow'r, pray tell me why", appears in Sixty melodies for youth, for two, three, and four voices, composed by Silcher, adapted to English words, for the use of schools and singing classes, first published 1850 [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Carl Wilhelm Wiedenfeld (1801 - 1860)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 112