First comes brown-haired Ursula | First comes brown-haired Ursula

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by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Erst kommt die braune Ursula

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: ENG

Erst kommt die braune Ursula,
  [Dann]¹ die blonde Marie,
Dann kommt das schwarze Bärbelchen,
  Am langsamsten ist die!

Sie gehen hintereinander
  Sehr feierlich und froh,
Weil ihnen geschenkt die Mutter
  Drei neue Hüte von Stroh!

Wenn nur die bösen Buben
  Nicht schrien frech und laut:
"Da gehen drei Strohmädelchen,
  Und eine davon ist Braut!"

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• E. Frank

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway, der deutsche Text von Käthe Freiligrath-Kroeker, München: Theodor Stroefers Kunstverlag, [1880], page 41.

¹ Frank: "Und dann"

Text Authorship:

by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904), no title, appears in Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901), no title, appears in Under the Window: Pictures & Rhymes for Children, first published 1879
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Ernst Frank (1847 - 1889), "Erst kommt die braune Ursula", op. 14 no. 5, published 1881 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ], from 16 Duettinen aus 'Am Fenster' in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway, no. 5, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "First comes brown-haired Ursula", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2020-05-31
Line count: 12
Word count: 55

First comes brown‑haired Ursula

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

First comes brown-haired Ursula,
  Then blonde Marie,
Then comes black-haired Barbara,
  She is the slowest one of them!

They walk one behind the other
  Very solemnly and happily,
Because their mother has given them
  Three new straw hats!

If only those nasty boys
  Would not scream boldly and loudly:
"There come three straw-maidens,
  And one of them is engaged!"

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Frank: "And then"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904), no title, appears in Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901), no title, appears in Under the Window: Pictures & Rhymes for Children, first published 1879
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-09-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 59