My donkey surely | LiederNet

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by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729 - 1781)

Translation © by Timothy Hoekman

Mein Esel sicherlich

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Mein Esel sicherlich
Muß klüger sein, als ich.
Ja, klüger muß er sein!
[Er fand sich selbst in Stall hinein]¹,
Und kam doch von der Tränke.
Man denke!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• S. Karg-Elert

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Karg-Elert: "Denn er fand in'n Stall sich selbst hinein"

Text Authorship:

by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729 - 1781), "Niklas", appears in Lieder [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 Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877 - 1933), "Mein Esel", op. 56 no. 4, published 1907, from Zehn Epigramme von Lessing, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Timothy Hoekman) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-01-11
Line count: 6
Word count: 30

My donkey surely

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

My donkey surely
Must be smarter than I am.
Yes, he must be smarter!
He found his way into the stable by himself,
Even though he came from the drinking trough.
Just think!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles
"Niklas" = "Niklas"
"Mein Esel" = "My donkey"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 by Timothy Hoekman, (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 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729 - 1781), "Niklas", appears in Lieder
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2020-08-28
Line count: 6
Word count: 33