Who has the most beautiful little sheep?

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by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 - 1874)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Das Lied vom Monde

(Sung text for setting by O. Dresel)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Die allerschönsten Schäfchen
Die hat der gold'ne Mond,
Der hinter unsern Bäumen
Am Himmel drüben wohnt.

Er kommt am späten Abend,
Wenn alles schlafen will,
Hervor aus seinem Hause
Zum Himmel leis' und still.

Dann weidet er die Schäfchen
Auf seiner blauen Flur,
Denn all' die weißen Sterne
Sind seine Schäfchen nur.

Sie tun sich nichts zu Leide
Hat eins das and're gern,
Und Schwestern sind und Brüder
Da droben Stern am Stern.

Und soll ich dir ein's bringen,
So darfst du niemals schrei'n,
Mußt freundlich wie die Schäfchen
Und wie ihr Schäfer sein.

Composition:

Otto Dresel

Text Authorship:

by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 - 1874), no title

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-08-19
Line count: 20
Word count: 104

The Song of the Moon

(Sung text translation for setting by O. Dresel)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Who has the most beautiful little sheep?
The golden moon does,
Who lives behind those trees
In the heavens up high.

He comes in the late evening,
When everything wants to sleep,
Out from his house
To the sky softly and quietly.

Then he tends his little sheep
On his blue meadow,
For all of the white stars
Are his little sheep.

They do us no harm.
Each is fond of the others,
And sisters and brothers above
Are star by star.

And if you want me to bring you one,
You must never scream,
You must be as amiable
As those little sheep and their shepherd.

Note for stanza 2, line 1: In German, the word for moon is masculine.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 - 1874), no title
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This text was added to the website: 2008-01-05
Line count: 20
Word count: 113