by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
There sat one day in quiet
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
There sat one day in quiet, By an alehouse on the Rhine, Four hale and hearty fellows, And drank the precious wine. The landlord's daughter filled their cups, Around the rustic board; Then sat they all so calm and still, And spake not one rude word. But, when the maid departed, A Swabian raised his hand, And cried, all hot and flushed with wine, "Long live the Swabian land! "The greatest kingdom upon earth Cannot with that compare; With all the stout and hardy men And the nut-brown maidens there." "Ha!" cried a Saxon, laughing, And dashed his beard with wine; "I had rather live in Lapland, Than that Swabian land of thine! "The goodliest land on all this earth, It is the Saxon land! There have I as many maidens As fingers on this hand!" "Hold your tongues! both Swabian and Saxon!" A bold Bohemian cries; "If there's a heaven upon this earth, In Bohemia it lies. "There the tailor blows the flute, And the cobbler blows the horn, And the miner blows the bugle, Over mountain gorge and bourn. And then the landlord's daughter Up to heaven raised her hand, And said, "Ye may no more contend,--- There lies the happiest land!"
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The happiest land", appears in Voices of the Night, first published 1839 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "The happiest land", published 1856? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (William) Oliver Cramer , "The happiest land" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles F. Heuberer , "The happiest land", published 1845 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Herbert Jude (1852 - 1922), "The happiest land", alternate title: "The landlord's daughter", published 1896 [ bass and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Henry Montgomery (1811? - 1886), "The happiest land" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by James Ernest Perring (1822 - 1899), "The happiest land", published 1870 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick F. Rogers (1846 - ?), "The happiest land" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Michael Watson (1840 - 1889), "The happiest land" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-12
Line count: 36
Word count: 204