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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!
J. Lang sets lines 1-6, 8-12
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed 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
Score: IMSLP [external link] [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):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "In the boat", copyright ©
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Odile Bénassy) , "Un petit oiseau", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Un uccelletto vola sul Reno", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 38
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,
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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
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 55