In the boat | A tiny bird

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by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Ein Vögelein

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG FRE ITA

Ein Vögelein
Fliegt [über den]¹ Rhein
Und wiegt die Flügel
Im Sonnenschein,
Sieht Rebenhügel
Und grüne Flut
In goldner Glut. --
Wie wohl das tut,
So hoch erhoben
Im Morgenhauch!
Beim [Vögelein]² droben,
O wär' ich auch!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Brahms • J. Lang

J. Lang sets lines 1-6, 8-12

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von C. Reinhold, Stuttgart: C. Mäcken, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1853, pages 65-66. Note: Lang set this text before the poem was published. She was using Köstlin’s poetry manuscript (Z 2722/8, poem 32, Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Marbach, Germany), which follows footnote 1 (i.e., it uses "über'n" instead of "über den").

Note: in Lang's song, line 3 word 2 ("wiegt") becomes "wieget" in the repetition.

¹ Lang: "über'n"
² Brahms: "Vöglein"

Text Authorship:

by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), "Auf dem Schiffe", written 1842, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, first published 1853 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Auf dem Schiffe", op. 97 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2 (1885), published 1886 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
by Dorothea Hofmann (b. 1961), "Ein Vöglein", first performed 2022 [ voice and piano ], from Leicht wie ein Vogel . . ., no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Vögelein", op. 14 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 5 (1842), published 1848, lines 1-6,8-12 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 38

In the boat

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A tiny bird
Flies over the Rhein
And flaps its wings
in the bright sunshine.
It sees hills with vines
And a green river
In a golden glow.
How good it is,
To be raised so high
Up in the morning air!
Up above with that little bird,
O, would I were there as well!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Reinhold (1813 - 1856), "Auf dem Schiffe", written 1842, appears in Gedichte, in Lieder und vermischte Gedichte, first published 1853
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 55