[Es war]1 eine Ratt' im Kellernest,
[Lebte]2 nur von Fett und Butter,
[Hatte]3 sich ein Ränzlein angemäst't,
[Als]4 wie der Doctor Luther.
Die Köchin hatt' ihr Gift gestellt;
Da ward's [so]5 eng' ihr in der Welt,
Als [hätte]6 sie Lieb' im Leibe.

Sie fuhr herum, sie fuhr heraus
Und soff aus allen Pfützen,
Zernagt', zerkratzt' das ganze Haus,
[Wollt']7 nichts ihr Wüten nützen;
Sie tät' gar manchen Ängstesprung,
Bald [hatte]8 das arme Tier genung
Als hätt' [es]9 Lieb' im Leibe.

Sie kam [für]10 Angst am hellen Tag
Der Küche zugelaufen,
Fiel an den Herd und zuckt' und lag,
Und tät erbärmlich schnaufen.
Da lachte die [Vergifterin]11 noch:
Ha! sie pfeift auf dem letzten Loch,
Als [hätte]6 sie Lieb' im Leibe.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Goethes Faust, ed. by Calvin Thomas, Boston, D. C. Heath & Co., 1899, page 95.

¹ Marschner: "War"
² Marschner: "Lebt'"
³ Busoni, Kreutzer, Radziwill, Wagner: "Hatt' "
⁴ Marschner: "So"
⁵ Marschner: "zu"
⁶ Busoni, Kreutzer, Marschner, Radziwill, Wagner: "hätt'"
⁷ Marschner, Radziwill: "Wollte"
⁸ Busoni, Kreutzer, Radziwill, Wagner: "hatt' "
⁹ Busoni, Kreutzer, Wagner: "sie"
¹⁰ Busoni, Kreutzer, Marschner, Radziwill, Wagner: "vor"
¹¹ Busoni, Kreutzer, Wagner: "Vergift'rin"

Authorship:

• by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I) [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924), "Lied des Brander", 1938, published 1964, first published posthumously in the collection Fünf Goethe-Lieder [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Christoph Kienlen (1783 - 1829), "Lied der lustigen Gesellen", published 1819? [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Kienzl (1857 - 1941), "Brander's Lied in Auerbach's Keller", op. 25 (Drei Lieder für Bass-Stimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1881 [ bass and piano ], Kassel, Voigt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Es war eine Ratt im Kellernest", published 1896 [ bass or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Wilh. Dietrich [sung text not yet checked]
• by Justus Amadeus Lecerf (1789 - 1868), "Lied der lustigen Gesellen in Auerbachs Keller", published 1835? [ voice and piano ], from Neun Gesänge zu Goethe's Faust, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leopold Lenz (1803 - 1862), "Lied der Gesellen in Auerbachs Keller", op. 14, Heft 2 no. 1, published 1833 [ voice and piano ], from Gesänge und Lieder aus der Tragödie Faust von Goethe, no. 4, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Aus Goethes Faust", op. 47 (Sechs deutsche Lieder für eine Bass- oder Baritonstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1829 [ bass or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Antoni Henryk Radziwill, Fürst (1775 - 1833), "Lied des Brander", published 1835, from Compositionen zu Göthe's Faust, no. 13, Berlin: Zum ausschliesslichen Debit in Commission bei T. Trautwein, Buch-und Musikhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Julius Röntgen (1855 - 1932), "Auerbach's Keller in Leipzig", 1931 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ ], from Aus Goethes Faust, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Paul Sakolowski (1872 - 1913), "Branders Lied", published 1901 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstime mit Pianoforte , no. 9, Leipzig, Salzer [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883), "Branders Lied", op. 5 no. 3, WWV 15 no. 3 (1831-2), from Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Auerbach's Keller in Leipzig. Zeche lustiger Gesellen", 1820 [ bass, chorus, and piano ], from Gesänge aus Goethe's Faust, no. 8, an edition from 1836 is mentioned by Hofmeister, published Wien, Trentsensky
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869) [an adaptation] and by Almire Gandonnière (b. 1814) [an adaptation] ; composed by Hector Berlioz.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Gérard Labrunie) , no title, appears in Le Faust de Goethe [an adaptation]
• IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Cantina di Auerbach a Lipsia", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 120

There once was a rat nesting in a cellar,
Who lived only on lard and butter,
Who had a paunch on it,
As fat as Doctor Luther.
The cook laid out poison for it;
It seemed as though, in all the world,
As if love had [consumed] its body.

It ran hither, it ran thither,
And lapped at all the puddles,
Gnawed, scratched around the whole house,
But there was no use for its madness;
It leapt all over in pain,
Soon the poor creature had ached
As if love [had consumed its] body.

It made it [in spite of]1 pain until the break of day
Running into the kitchen,
Fell on the hearth and twitched and lay prone,
And wheezed pitifully.
Then [she] laughed, the poisoner:
"Ha! it is on his last legs,
As if love had [consumed] its body."