Once the goat came as a messenger

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by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Einst kam der Bock als Bote

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Einst kam der Bock als Bote
Zum Rosenkavalier an's Haus,
Er klopft mit seiner Pfote,
Den Eingang wehrt ein Rosenstrauss.

Der Strauss sticht seine Dornen schnell
Dem Botenbock durch's dicke Fell.
O Bock, zieh mit gesenktem Sterz
Hinterwärts, hinterwärts! ¹

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Strauss

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Strauss: "O Bock, o Botenbock, zieh mit gesenktem Sterz/ Hinterwärts, hinterwärts!"

Text Authorship:

by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Einst kam der Bock als Bote", op. 66 no. 2 (1918), from Krämerspiegel, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , no title, copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Une fois le bouc vint comme messager", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Matthias Fletzberger

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 40

Once the goat came as a messenger

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Once the goat came as a messenger
To the house of the Rosenkavalier,
He knocked with his paw,
His entry was blocked by a bouquet of roses.

With the bouquet’s thorns the ostrich quickly stabs
The messenger-goat through his thick pelt.
Oh goat, be off with your tail between your legs
Back where you came from, back where you came from!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translator's notes
Stanza 1, Line 1: Although translated as "goat" and "messenger", respectively, the words "Bock" and "Bote" refer to the former Berlin music publishing house "Bote & Bock."
Stanza 1, Line 2: "Rosenkavalier" is the name of an opera by Strauss.
Stanza 2, line 1: In keeping with the animal motif, Strauss’s own name was rendered as "ostrich"; in this translation the ostrich uses the thorns of the rose bouquet to stab the goat. Other translators, however, read the "Strauss" as bouquet and have the bouquet do its own stabbing. Both interpretations are grammatically possible.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-09-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 61