Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Der Winter ist ein rechter Mann, Kernfest und auf die Dauer; Sein Fleisch fühlt sich wie Eisen an Und scheut nicht süß noch sauer. Aus Blumen und aus Vogelsang Weiß er sich nichts zu machen, [Haßt warmen Trank und warmen Klang Und alle warmen Sachen.]1 Wenn Stein und Bein vor Frost zerbricht Und Teich und Seen krachen, Das klingt ihm gut, das haßt er nicht, Dann will er tot sich lachen. Sein Schloß von Eis liegt [ganz]2 hinaus Beim Nordpol an dem Strande, Doch hat er auch ein Sommerhaus Im lieben Schweizerlande. Da ist er denn bald dort, bald hier, Gut Regiment zu führen, Und wenn er durchzieht, stehen wir Und seh'n ihn an und frieren.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Humperdinck: "ein warmes Herz, das ist sein Drang,/ sonst hasst er warme Sachen."
2 Humperdinck: "hoch"
Text Authorship:
- by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Ein Lied hinterm Ofen zu singen" [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 Engelbert Humperdinck (1854 - 1921), "Der Winter", 1909-10, from Kinderlieder, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erkki Gustaf Melartin (1875 - 1937), "Der Winter", op. 49b no. 4 (1900) [ voice and piano ], from Lastenlauluja I, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Der Winter ist ein rechter Mann" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christof Rheineck (1748 - 1797), "Ein Lied, hinterm Ofen zu singen", 1784 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Ein Lied, hinterm Ofen zu singen", op. 52 no. 9 (1937) [ voice and piano ], from Wandsbecker Liederbuch: Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Matthias Claudius, no. 9, Wien: Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "Winter", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-12
Line count: 20
Word count: 118
Winter is quite a man, solid and long-lasting. His flesh feels like iron and he isn't afraid of either sweet or bitter. Flowers and bird song are things he doesn't have anything to do with; He hates warm drinks and warm sounds and all warm things. [Humperdinck: a warm heart, that's what he longs for, otherwise he hates warm things.] When stones and bones are broken in the frost and ponds and lakes crack up, it sounds good to him, he doesn't hate it, that's when he could die laughing. His ice castle lies a long way off at the North Pole, on the coast there, but he also has a summer house in our dear Switzerland. So sometimes he is here, sometimes there, keeping an eye on things, and when he passes through, we have to stand up look at him and freeze.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 by Malcolm Wren, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Ein Lied hinterm Ofen zu singen"
This text was added to the website: 2008-03-12
Line count: 23
Word count: 144