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by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815)
Translation © by John Glenn Paton

Heute will ich frölich, frölich seyn
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Heute will ich frölich, frölich seyn,
  Keine Weis' und keine Sitte hören;
Will mich wälzen, und für Freude schrein,
  Und der König soll mir das nicht wehren;

Denn er kommt mit seiner Freuden Schaar
  Heute aus der Morgenröthe Hallen,
Einen Blumenkranz um Brust und Haar
  Und auf seiner Schulter Nachtigallen;

Und sein Antlitz ist ihm roth und weis,
  Und er träuft von Thau und Duft und Seegen -
Ha! mein Thyrsus sey ein Knoßpenreis,
  Und so tauml' ich meinen Freund' entgegen.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, I. und II. Theil. Beym Verfasser, und in Commißion bey Fr. Perthes in Hamburg. [1774], page 194; and with Poetische Blumenlese Auf das Jahr 1775. Göttingen und Gotha bey Johann Christian Dieterich, page 97.

First published in Der Deutsche, sonst Wandsbecker Bothe. Ao. 1774. No. 84. Freytags, den 27ten May.


Text Authorship:

  • by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Der Frühling. Am ersten Maymorgen", written 1774, first published 1774 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Willy Burkhard (1900 - 1955), "Heute will ich fröhlich sein", 1936, from Zwei Gesänge, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Der Frühling", op. 60 (Drei Lieder) no. 3, published 1947 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Der Frühling", op. 52 no. 6 (1937) [ voice and piano ], from Wandsbecker Liederbuch: Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Matthias Claudius, no. 6, Wien: Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Am ersten Maimorgen", D 344 (1816?) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Op de eerste meimorgen", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "Today I want to be happy, happy", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le premier matin de mai", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 80

Today I want to be happy, happy
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Today I want to be happy, happy,
to hear no manners, no behavior,
want to whirl around and cry out for joy,
and the king himself shall not prevent me from that.

For he (spring) is coming with a host of joys,
today, from the halls of the morning's red skies,
with a wreath of flowers around his chest and hair
and nightingales on his shoulder.

And his face is red and white,
and he is dripping with dew and fragrance and blessing.
Ah! may my thyrsus be a branch of buds,
and thus may I rush toward my friend.

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2000 by John Glenn Paton, (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 Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Der Frühling. Am ersten Maymorgen", written 1774, first published 1774
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 101

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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