There once was a goat, a goat

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by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Es war einmal ein Bock, ein Bock

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Es war einmal ein Bock, ein Bock,
Der fraß an einem Blumenstock, der Bock.
Musik, du lichte Blumenzier,
Wie schmatzt der Bock voll Schmausegier!
Er möchte gar vermessen
Die Blüten alle, alle fressen.
Du liebe Blüte wehre dich,
Du Bock und Gierschlung, schere dich!
Schere dich, du Bock!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title [author's text not yet checked 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 Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Es war einmal ein Bock, ein Bock", op. 66 no. 1 (1918), from Krämerspiegel, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Il était une fois un bouc", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Matthias Fletzberger

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 48

There once was a goat, a goat

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

There once was a goat, a goat,
Who nibbled on a flowering plant, the goat.
Music, you bright floral adornment,
How the goat smacks his lips in gluttonous enjoyment!
Impudently he wishes
To eat up all, all the flowers.
You darling blossom defend yourself against this fate,
You goat and glutton, be off with you!
Be off, you goat!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translator's note for line 1: Although translated as "goat", the word "Bock" refers to the former Berlin music publishing house "Bote & Bock." According to Michael Shane Hurst ("Interpreting Richard Strauss’s Der Krämerspiegel from the Perspectives of the Performers and the Audience," DMA dissertation, University of North Texas, 2007, page 114), the word "Bock" refers specifically to Hugo Bock, one of the partners in the publishing house.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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 Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-09-13
Line count: 9
Word count: 59