The king went out for a walk

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by Hugo Salus (1866 - 1929)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Einfältiges Lied

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE LIT

König ist spazieren gangen,
Bloß wie ein Mensch spazieren gangen,
Ohne Szepter und ohne Kron',
Wie ein gewöhnlicher Menschensohn.

Ist ein starker Wind gekommen,
Ganz gewöhnlicher Wind gekommen,
Ohne Ahnung, wer das wär',
Fällt er über den König her.

Hat ihm den Hut vom Kopf gerissen, 
Hat ihn über's Dach geschmissen, 
Hat ihn nie mehr wiedergesehn!

Seht ihr's!
Da habt ihr's!
Das sag' ich ja!

Treiben gleich Allotria!
Es kann kein König ohne Kron', 
Wie ein gewöhnlicher Menschensohn
Unter die dummen Leute gehn!

Text Authorship:

by Hugo Salus (1866 - 1929) [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 Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (1874 - 1951), "Einfältiges Lied", 1901, from Brettl-Lieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chanson simple", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Paprasta daina", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Pilar Lirio

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 83

The king went out for a walk

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The king went out for a walk,
Like an ordinary man upon a walk,
Without a scepter and without a crown
Like a common man about the town.

A strong wind began to blow,
A quite ordinary wind began to blow,
Without knowing who it was at all,
Upon the king the wind did fall.
 
It ripped the hat from off his head,
And hurtling o'er the roof it sped,
Nevermore to be seen!

There you see it!
There you have it!
I told you so!

What a joke!
One can't be a king without a crown,
Who, like ordinary men, goes up and down
Among the foolish folk.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Hugo Salus (1866 - 1929)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-08-29
Line count: 18
Word count: 109