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Weißt du wie viel [Sterne]1 stehen An dem blauen Himmelszelt, Weißt du, wie viel Wolken gehen Weithin über alle Welt? Gott der Herr hat sie gezählet, Daß ihm auch nicht eines fehlet, An der ganzen großen Zahl, An der ganzen großen Zahl. Weißt du wie viel Mücklein spielen In der hellen Sonnengluth? Wie viel Fischlein auch sich kühlen In der hellen Wasserfluth? Gott der Herr rief sie mit Namen Daß sie all' in's Leben kamen, Daß sie nun so fröhlich sind, Daß sie nun so fröhlich sind. Weißt du, wie viel Kinder frühe Steh'n aus ihren Bettlein auf, Daß sie ohne Sorg' und Mühe Fröhlich sind im Tageslauf, Gott im Himmel hat an allen Seine Lust, sein Wohlgefallen, Kennt auch dich und hat dich lieb, Kennt auch dich und hat dich lieb.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Noch fünfzig Fabeln für Kinder von Wilhelm Hey, mit Bildern von Otto Speckter, nebst ein ernsthaften Anhange, neue Ausgabe, Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes, 1852. Appears in <>Anhang, pages 18 - 19.
1 Fliegel: "Sternlein"; further changes may exist not shown above.
Authorship:
- by Johann Wilhelm Hey (1789 - 1854), no title, appears in Noch fünfzig Fabeln fü;r Kinder, in Anhang [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 Carl Wilhelm Fliegel , "Die reiche Liebe", op. 7 (Acht Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 7, published 1854 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Bahn [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789 - 1860), "Weißt du wie viel Sterne stehen", published 1841 [ duet ], from Zwölf Kinderlieder aus dem Anhange des Specter'schen Fabelbuches, no. 12 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Francis L. Soper) , "Lo, the blithesome lark is soaring", appears in Sixty melodies for youth, for two, three, and four voices, composed by Silcher, adapted to English words, for the use of schools and singing classes, first published 1850 [an adaptation]
- ENG English (Steve Butler) , "Do you know how many stars there are", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Bertram Kottmann , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 132
Do you know how many stars there are That make the blue night sky twinkle? Do you know how many clouds go to cover the world? God the One has counted them Ensuring not a single one is missing anywhere, Ensuring not a single one is missing anywhere. Do you know, how many sunbeams play in the warm sunglow? Do you know how many fishlings frolic in the cool bright water flow? God the One gave them names So they all came to life So they are so merry now So they are so merry now. Do you know how many children are early to bed so nothing spoils their merry carefree days? God in Heaven has for all His love and adores you all knows you so and loves you so, knows you so and loves you so.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2007 by Steve Butler, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Steve Butler. Contact: steve57 (AT) iprimus (DOT) com (DOT) au
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wilhelm Hey (1789 - 1854), no title, appears in Noch fünfzig Fabeln fü;r Kinder, in Anhang
This text was added to the website: 2007-06-07
Line count: 24
Word count: 139