The potato song | Pâtés there, pâtés here

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 Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815)

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Kartoffellied

(Sung text for setting by G. Bachlund)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Pasteten hin, Pasteten her,
  Was kümmern uns Pasteten?
Die Kumme hier ist auch nicht leer
Und schmeckt so gut als bonne chère
  Von Fröschen und von Kröten.

Und viel Pastet und Leckerbrot
  Verdirbt nur Blut und Magen.
Die Köche kochen lauter Not,
Sie kochen uns viel eher tot;
  Ihr Herren, laßt euch sagen!

Schön rötlich die Kartoffeln sind,
  Und weiß wie Alabaster;
Sie dau'n sich lieblich und geschwind
  Und sind für Mann und Weib und Kind,
 ... 
  Ein rechtes Magenpflaster!

Composition:

Gary Bachlund

Text Authorship:

by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), no title

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "The potato song", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 94

The potato song

(Sung text translation for setting by G. Bachlund)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Pâtés there, pâtés here,
Shall we care about pâtés?
The bowl here is not empty
and it tastes as good as the fancy foods
which are made by frogs and toads.

And many pastries and tasty breads
only upset one's blood and stomach.
Chefs cook with such a fuss,
and cook us into an early grave;
My friends, let's say it!

Beautifully reddish are potatoes
and white as alabaster!
They're light and sweet and easy to cook,
designed for men and women and child
as a fine cure for the stomach.

Text Authorship:

by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The potato song", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), no title
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-15
Line count: 15
Word count: 91