The indicating green branches | The indicating green branches

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by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850)

Translation © by Linda Godry

Den grünen Zeigern

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA LIT

Den grünen Zeigern,
Den roten Wangen,
Den lustigen Geigern
Bin ich nachgegangen
Von Schenk' zu Schenk',
Solang' ich denk'.

Am Tschako jetz trag' ich 
Die grünen Äste,
Rote Wangen, die schlag' ich
Den Feinden auf's Beste,
Kanonengebrumm
Musiziert herum.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Schumann

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 4. Viertes Buch, in Vermischte Gedichte, in Husarenlieder, no. 3 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Den grünen Zeigern", op. 117 no. 3 (1851), published 1852, from Vier Husarenlieder von Nikolaus Lenau, no. 3, Leipzig, Senff [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Els verds senyals", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De groene wijzers", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Linda Godry) , "The indicating green branches", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Les pancartes vertes", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Ai verdi segnali", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Paskui žalias rodykles", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 39

The indicating green branches

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

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The indicating green branches,
The red cheeks,
The jolly fiddlers
I followed
From tavern to tavern,
For as long as I can remember.

At the shako I now wear
The freshly cut branches,
Red cheeks I give
The enemy as best as I can,
Cannon roar is the music
that surrounds us [and is our favourite tune now].

Translator's note: In Austria and Hungary, the taverns would indicate the arrival of the fresh new wine by attaching a bunch of freshly-cut green branches at their entrances to the street.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Linda Godry, (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 Nikolaus Lenau (1802 - 1850), no title, appears in Gedichte, in 4. Viertes Buch, in Vermischte Gedichte, in Husarenlieder, no. 3
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2006-11-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 58