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In Hamburg lebten zwei Ameisen,
Die wollten nach Australien reisen.
Bei Altona auf der Chaussee,
Da taten ihnen die Beine weh,
Und da verzichteten sie weise
Dann auf den letzten Teil der Reise.
So will man oft und kann doch nicht
Und leistet dann recht gern Verzicht.
H. Große-Schware sets stanza 1
Authorship
- by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), as Joachim Ringelnatz, "Die Ameisen", appears in Die Schnupftabacksdose - Stumpfsinn in Versen, first published 1912 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Die Ameisen", 2009 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hermann Große-Schware (b. 1931), "Die Ameisen", stanza 1 [men's chorus a cappella], from Von allerlei Getier I, no. 2 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Linda Godry) , "The ants", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Linda Godry
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-23
Line count: 8
Word count: 47
The were two ants in Hamburg, who desired to travel to Australia. When they reached the Highway near Altona1, their legs were hurting, and wisely they abandoned the final bit of their journey.
1 Altona: the western part of Hamburg.
Authorship
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2008 by Linda Godry, (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 Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), as Joachim Ringelnatz, "Die Ameisen", appears in Die Schnupftabacksdose - Stumpfsinn in Versen, first published 1912
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-30
Line count: 6
Word count: 33