Guten Abend, gute Nacht,
Mit Rosen bedacht,
Mit Näglein besteckt,
Schlupf' unter die Deck,
Morgen früh, wenns Gott will,
Wirst du wieder geweckt.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• J. Brahms • C. Ives About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Confirmed with Achim von Arnim und Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Band 3, Stuttgart, 1979, page 304.
Note provided by Laura Prichard: Brahms gentle Wiegenlied, op. 49, no. 4, was dedicated to his youthful [girl]friend, Bertha Faber, née Porubsky. Although it was composed to celebrate the birth of her second son, it may contain a touching, bittersweet farewell to Bertha herself, who became a regular alto chorister in the women’s choir Brahms conducted in Hamburg before her marriage. Bertha and the twenty-six-year-old Brahms exchanged many letters, and he was a frequent [chaperoned] dinner guest in her home in 1859. This cradle song’s famous melody was intended to act as a harmony part to the Austrian duet "S’Is Anderscht" (1842) by Alexander Baumann (1814-1857), which Johannes and Bertha sang together in her family parlour. Baumann’s melody is preserved in the piano introduction: its original text is "Du moanst wol di Liab last si zwinga" [Do you think that love can be forced], and continues "Zatrist wo a Bleamle, steht’s nimmermer auf" [if you trample a flower it’ll never rise again]. Brahms sent the published lullaby to Bertha’s husband in Vienna, confessing "Frau Bertha will realize that I wrote the Wiegenlied for her little one. She will find it quite in order that while she is singing Hans to sleep, a love song is being sung to her."
Text Authorship:
Go to the general view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-07
Line count: 6
Word count: 25
Goedenavond, goedenacht,
Met rozen bedacht,
Met seringen bedekt,
Ga nu slapen direct.
Morgen vroeg, als God wil,
Word je zacht weer gewekt.
