"Eia popeia,"
Das ist ein altes Lied;
Und wer das Lied gehöret,
Dem werden die Augen müd':
Das Hündchen und das Kätzchen,
Am Fenstersims das Spätzchen,
Mein Kindchen selbst, mein Schätzchen,
"Eia popeia,"
So flink sie eben gesprungen,
Sie werden alle müd'.

"Eia popeia,"
Das ist ein altes Lied;
Der Mond hat's oft gehöret,
Ist oft schon worden müd';
Die Bäche und die Quellen,
So wach sie [sich auch]1 stellen,
Im Traum nur zieh'n die Wellen:
"Eia popeia,"
Sobald's die Nacht gesungen,
Wird alles, alles müd'.

"Eia popeia,"
Das ist ein altes Lied;
Doch eine singt und singt es
Und wird davon nicht müd'. 
[Ob's]2 schweigt in allen Räumen,
[Ob's blüht]3 in allen Bäumen,
[Kann schlafen nicht, noch träumen]4,
["Eia popeia."]5
Eh' nicht ihr Kindlein schlummert,
Die Mutter wird nicht müd'.

J. Rheinberger sets stanzas 2-3
R. Wetz sets stanzas 2-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Wetz: "auch sich"
² Rheinberger, Wetz: "Es"
³ Rheinberger: "Es blühet"; Wetz: "Es blüht"
⁴ Rheinberger: "Sie kann nicht schlafen, träumen"; Wetz: "Sie kann nicht schlafen, nicht träumen"
⁵ omitted by Wetz.

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Reinick (1805 - 1852), "Im Frühling", appears in Vier Wiegenlieder, no. 1 [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 Reinhold Bergell (b. 1841), "Wiegenlied (Im Frühling)", published 1895 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, 6. Heft, no. 1, Stolp, Hildebrandt [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leo Blech (1871 - 1958), "Wiegenlied im Frühling", op. 27 no. 5, copyright © 1924 [ voice and piano ], from Neun Liedchen großen und kleinen Kindern vorzusingen, Fünfte Folge, no. 5, Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alexis Holländer (1840 - 1924), "Im Frühling (Wiegenlied)", op. 51 (Acht Lieder für 1 tiefere Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1895 [ low voice and piano ], Berlin, Fürstner [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Kahn (1865 - 1951), "Im Frühling", op. 39 (Vier Wiegenlieder nach Gedichten von Robert Reinick) no. 1 (1903) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Wiegenlied im Frühling", op. 44 (Drei Duette) no. 1 (1852) [ duet for soprano and tenor with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Die Mutter singt", op. 152 no. 30, published 1889, stanzas 2-3 [ voice and piano ], from Liederbuch für Kinder, no. 30 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Richard Wetz (1875 - 1935), "Wiegenlied", op. 5 (Sechs Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung) no. 3, published 1901, stanzas 2-3 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig: Fr. Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-03-26
Line count: 30
Word count: 137

 "Eia popeia,"
Is an old song;
And the eyes of everyone who has heard the song
Become sleepy:
The puppy and the kitten,
On the window sill the sparrow,
Even my child, my little sweetheart
 "Eia popeia,"
As nimbly as they were just jumping about,
They all grow tired. 

"Eia popeia" 
Is an old song.
The moon has often heard it
And has often grown tired.
The streams and the springs,
No matter how wide-awake they pretend to be,
In dreams the waves sing it:
 "Eia popeia."
As soon as the night has sung it,
Everything grows tired.

 "Eia popeia" 
Is an old song,
Yet there is one who sings and sings it
And does not grow tired from it.
There is silence in all the rooms,
There is blossoming in all the trees,
[But] she cannot sleep or dream.
 "Eia popeia" --
Until her child is slumbering,
The mother does not grow tired.