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Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

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by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934) and by Ferdinand Kahn
Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Im heißen Bad
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Dort im heißen Bad ein Hummer
Brummt erzürnt: "Schockschwerenot!"
Diese Hitze färbt mein schönes
Grünes Kleid ganz purpurrot.

Ei, war das ein fröhlich Leben,
Als ich noch im tiefen Schlamm
Mit Frau Kröte, meiner Base,
Friedlich einst im Teiche schwamm.

'Vetter Hummer!' rief Frau Base
Da auf einmal mit Gekreisch,
'Schaut, dort unterm Weidenstamme
Schwimmt ein Happen gutes Fleisch!'

Kaum hört das die Frau Forelle.
Schießt sie zu auf jenes Stück;
Aber ich war grad so schnelle,
Hielt sie fest am Schwanz zurück!

Schwamm dann selber rasch hinüber,
Voller Hunger, voller Gier --
Schwapp! -- da lag ich schon in Grase,
Und das Fleisch lag neben mir.

Also hat man mich gefangen,
Niemand hilft mir in der Not.
Schuld an allem ist die Kröte ..."
Uff! -- da war der Hummer tot!

Text Authorship:

  • by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), "Im heißen Bad", appears in Was Topf und Pfann' erzählen kann, first published 1910 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
  • by Ferdinand Kahn , "Im heißen Bad", appears in Was Topf und Pfann' erzählen kann, first published 1910 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Im heißen Bad", 2010 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 129

In a boiling bath a lobster
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
In a boiling bath a lobster
Growled with rage: "What crisis deep!
The heat! It wrecks my greenish beauty
Staining it purplish-red so deep.

Oh, I'd had a happy life once
In the peaceful ocean muds,
With Miss Froggy, she a cousin,
Midst the gullies and ocean floods.

'Cousin Lobster!' hollered Froggy
In a singular croaking screech,
'Look, appearing there before us,
A tasty morsel within our reach!'

Like a flash a trout swam for it,
Shooting at the dainty fare;
But I was oh so quick to answer,
Clawing at her snout to snare....

I raced after the meaty lure,
Filled with hunger, fueled by greed --
And! -- then I found that I was landed,
For the bait had done its deed.

Thereupon I was imprisoned,
No one came, sparing this, my fate.
All because Miss Froggy hollered...."
Uh -- the lobster was ready for a dinner plate.

About the headline (FAQ)

Rhymed paraphrase.

Text Authorship:

  • by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), written 2010, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), "Im heißen Bad", appears in Was Topf und Pfann' erzählen kann, first published 1910 and by Ferdinand Kahn , "Im heißen Bad", appears in Was Topf und Pfann' erzählen kann, first published 1910
    • Go to the text page.

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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 147

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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