The beggar-boy | I am a poor beggar-boy

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by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der Bettelbube

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ich bin ein armer Bettelbube;
Mein Bruder ist der Mond, --
Und um ihn her geh'n meine Schwestern, 
Die Wolken bleich und blond.

Mein Vater ist der Thurm, der morsche, 
Der steht am Unkenteich; --
Und meine Mutter steht am Wege, 
Die alte, hohle Eich'!

Ich bin ein armer Bettelbube; 
Wenn ich gestorben bin, --
So nehmt und legt zu meiner Mutter 
Mich in den Graben hin.

Da ist mein weites Gruftgewölbe
Das mächt'ge Himmelszelt; --
Beklagend mich, ziehn meine Schwestern, 
Mein Bruder durch die Welt. –

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• W. Goethe

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Ost und West, Blätter für Kunst, Literatur und geselliges Leben, Vierter Jahrgang (Mittwoch den 8. Juli 1840), No. 55, page 261.

Text Authorship:

by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Der Bettelbube", subtitle: "(Slowakisch)" [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 Walter von Goethe (1817 - 1885), "Der Bettelbube", op. 22 (Slavische Bilder), Heft 1 no. 4, published [1851] [ voice and piano ], Bonn: N. Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The beggar-boy", subtitle: "(Slovakian)", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 88

The beggar‑boy

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I am a poor beggar-boy;
My brother is the moon, --
And around him my sisters move,
The clouds pale and blonde.

My father is the tower, the ramshackle one,
That stands by the frog pond; --
And my mother stands along the road,
The old, hollow oak!

I am a poor beggar-boy;
When I have died, --
Then take me and lay me
Into the ditch beside my mother.

There is the broad vault of my crypt:
The mighty canopy of heaven; --
Lamenting over me, my sisters, my brother,
Travel through the world. --

Subtitle: "(Slovakian)"

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Siegfried Kapper (1821 - 1879), "Der Bettelbube", subtitle: "(Slowakisch)"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-12-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 95