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Wir Vögel singen nicht egal;
Der singet laut; der andre leise,
Kauz nicht wie ich, ich nicht wie Nachtigall,
Ein jeder hat so seine Weise.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Matthias Claudius Werke, Erster Band, Vierte Auflage, Hamburg: bey Friedrich Perthes, 1829, page 5
Authorship
- by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Kuckuck" [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 Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Kuckuck", op. 52 no. 8 (1937) [voice and piano], from Wandsbecker Liederbuch: Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Matthias Claudius, no. 8, Wien: Universal Edition [text verified 1 time]
- by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (1760 - 1802), "Kukuk", published 1803, from Kleine Balladen und Lieder, Heft V, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , title 1: "Cuckoo", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 25
We birds do not all sing the same. One sings loudly, the other softly. The owl does not sing like me, I do not sing like the nightingale. Everyone has his own way of singing.
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 by Sharon Krebs, (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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Kuckuck"
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-03
Line count: 4
Word count: 35