Hvad vil den mand med kæder på
Language: Danish (Dansk)
Our translations: ENG FRE
Hvad vil den Mand med Kæder på,
Med gyldne Kæder om sit Bryst?
Hvorhen jeg går, hans Øjne gå,
Men taler han, så har hans Røst
En Magt som jeg må lyde.
En Kirkens Mand, en Adelsmand;
Gud ved, om Duen var istand
Den Høgeham at bryde?
...Og han er Prinsens Kansler,
Og Prinsen kommer hid!
Hvorledes ser en Prins vel ud?
Må bære Kæder vel på Bryst
Og Lin om Hals og Sidenskrud;
Men har hans tunge sådan Røst,
Som Jomfruer må lyde?
Ak, her i Mutter Sigbrits Bod
Han sætter aldrig dog sin Fod.
Hvad kunne vi ham byde?
Confirmed with Drachmann, Holger,
Samlede Petiske Skrifter - Folkeudgave - Fjerde bind, Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, Kjøbenhavn og Kristiania, 1907.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Heinrich Zschalig ; composed by Peter Arnold Heise.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Camilla Bugge) , "What does he want, that man with the chains", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Que veut cet homme portant une chaîne", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Camilla Bugge , Pierre Mathé
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2004-12-11
Line count: 18
Word count: 101
What does he want, that man with the chains
Language: English after the Danish (Dansk)
What does he want, that man with the chains,
with golden chains upon his breast?
Wherever I go, his eyes follow,
but when he speaks, his voice has
a power that I must obey.
A man of the church, a nobleman;
God knows if the dove
could breach that hawk-skin?
...And he is the prince's chancellor,
and the prince is coming here!
How does a prince look like, I wonder?
He must bear chains upon his breast, I suppose,
and linen around his neck and silken robes;
but will his voice have such a might,
that maidens must obey?
Alas, here in mother Sigbrit's shop
he will never set his foot.
What would we have to offer him?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Danish (Dansk) to English copyright © 2004 by Camilla Bugge, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-11
Line count: 18
Word count: 118