Drinking song in May | Put a garland around the barrels

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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

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

by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776)

Translation © by Malcolm Wren

Trinklied im Maÿ

(Sung text for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Bekränzet die Tonnen,
Und zapfet mir Wein;
Der Mai ist begonnen,
Wir müssen uns freun!
Die Winde verstummen,
Und athmen noch kaum;
Die Bienlein umsummen
Den blühenden Baum.

 ... 

Zum Mahle, zum Mahle,
Die Flaschen herbei!
Zwein volle Pokale
Gebühren dem Mai.
Er träuft auf die Blüten
Sein Roth und sein Weiß;
Die Vögelein brüten
Im Schatten des Mais.

 ... 

Ihr Jüngling', ihr Schönen,
Gebt Dank ihm und Preis!
Laßt Gläser ertönen
Zur Ehre des Mais!
Es grüne die Laube,
Die Küsse verschließt!
Es wachse die Traube,
Der Nektar entfließt!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3,5 of the original text.

Note: This is the version as published by Voß. The initial version of this poem, according to Hölty's manuscript, has two more stanzas and is quite different (see below).

Composition:

Josephine Lang

Text Authorship:

by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776), "Trinklied im Mai", written 1775, first published 1777

See other settings of this text.

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Cant bàquic al maig", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Drinklied in Mei", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "Drinking song in May", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Chanson à boire en mai", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-12
Line count: 48
Word count: 174

Drinking song in May

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Put a garland around the barrels,
And pour me some wine;
May has begun,
We have to enjoy ourselves!
The winds are settling down
And are now hardly breathing;
The little bees are buzzing around
The blossoming tree.

 ... 

It's time to eat - to the table - 
With your glasses to hand!
A pair of brimming beakers
Is what May deserves.
Let May drip onto the blossoms,
Its red and its white;
The little birds are sitting on their nests
In May's shadows.

 ... 

You young people, you beautiful people,
Give it thanks and praise!
Let glasses ring out
In honour of May!
Let the foliage turn green,
Seal up the kisses!
Let the grape swell,
Let the nectar flow!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3,5 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748 - 1776), "Trinklied im Mai", written 1775, first published 1777
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2017-08-11
Line count: 48
Word count: 225