Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat...
Language: Czech (Čeština) after the Czech (Čeština)
Our translations: ENG ENG FIN FRE ITA ITA
Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat učívala,
podivno, že často, často slzívala.
A ted' také pláčem snědé líce mučim,
když cigánské děti hrát a zpívat učim!
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: many singable translations rely on the repetition of "zpívat" in the first line. It was not present in the original text.
The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Karel Bendl (1838 - 1897), "Když mne stará matka", from Cigánské melodie, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904), "Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat učívala", op. 55 no. 4, B. 104 no. 4 (1880), from Cigánské melodie, no. 4, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Natalie Macfarren (1826 - 1916) ; composed by Charles Edward Ives.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Heyduk (1835 - 1923) , no title ; composed by Antonín Dvořák.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Gayle Royko Heuser) (Anna Majtas Royko) , "When my old mother taught me to sing", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Thomas Heck) , "When my mother taught me to sing", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Marc Moreau) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Maria Rita De Matteis) , "Quando la mia vecchia madre ancora mi insegnava a cantare", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) [singable] (Thomas Heck) , "Quando mia vecchia madre", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-16
Line count: 4
Word count: 26
When my mother taught me to sing
Language: English after the Czech (Čeština)
When my mother taught me to sing,
Sometimes there glistened a tear in her eye;
Hers were songs that like a river
caused my heart to quiver!
Now when I teach little voices,
Pass on my mother's choices;
How I tear up when they sing, when they
sing the songs, the songs my mother taught me.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from Czech (Čeština) to English copyright © 2006 by Thomas Heck, (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:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2006-05-04
Line count: 8
Word count: 56