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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wir sind arm; der Wald, das Feld
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Wir sind arm; der Wald, das Feld
Sind uns Haus und Speicher;
Doch so glücklich in der Welt
Lebt, wie wir, kein Reicher;
Wie die Väter, frohgemuth
Leben wir und sterben --
Für ein ächt Zigeunerblut
Giebt es kein Verderben!

   Hei, Zigeuner! Hei, Zigeuner!
   Hochgemuth und heiter
   Fangen wir zu leben an,
   Leben wir immer weiter!

Was uns Glück und Unglück beut,
Macht uns keine Sorgen;
Giebt es nichts zu essen heut,
Warten wir bis morgen!
Dafür auch verbringen wir
Nicht den Tag wie Sklaven --
Immer lustig, singen wir,
Tanzen, essen, schlafen.

   Hei, Zigeuner! Hei, Zigeuner!
   Hochgemuth und heiter
   Fangen wir zu leben an,
   Leben wir immer weiter!

Auf der Erde schlafen wir,
Hoch der Himmel deckt uns;
Mond und Stern macht uns Quartier,
Sonn' und Lerche weckt uns!
Ob auch Frost und Winter droht:
Knistert rings das Feuer,
Hat's im Walde keine Noth,
Wo das Holz nicht teuer!

   Hei, Zigeuner! Hei, Zigeuner!
   Hochgemuth und heiter
   Fangen wir zu leben an,
   Leben wir immer weiter!

Lustig durch das Leben so
Singen wir und wandern,
Alle Tage frisch und froh,
Einen wie den andern.
[Ewiger]1 Festtag ist uns hier
Wechselvoll in Neuheit --
Und für nichts verkaufen wir
Unsre goldne Freiheit!

   Hei, Zigeuner! Hei, Zigeuner!
   Hochgemuth und heiter
   Fangen wir zu leben an,
   Leben wir immer weiter!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   H. Marschner 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Friedrich Bodenstedt, Alte und neue Gedichte, Erster Band, Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei (R.v. Decker), 1867, pages 136-137.

Note: The Marschner setting has slightly different spellings of some words.
1 Marschner: "Ew'ger"

Text Authorship:

  • by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Die Zigeunerbande singt:", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 6. Volksweisen als Intermezzo, 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 Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Zigeunerchor", op. 169 no. 12, published 1855 [ vocal quartet and piano ], from Orientalischer Liederschatz von Fr. Bodenstedt, no. 12, Hamburg, Böhme [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Bertram Kottmann , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 48
Word count: 215

We are poor; the forest, the field
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
We are poor; the forest, the field
Are house and pantry to us;
But no rich man in the world
Lives as happily as we do;
Like our fathers, with a cheerful heart
We live and die --
For a true-blooded gypsy
There is no perishing!

   Hey, gypsy! Hey, gypsy!
   High-spirited and merry
   Once we begin to live,
   We simply go on living!

What fortune and misfortune offer us,
Causes us no worries;
If there is nothing to eat today,
We wait until tomorrow!
That is why we do not spend
Our days like slaves --
Ever merry, we sing,
Dance, eat, and sleep.

   Hey, gypsy! Hey, gypsy!
   High-spirited and merry
   Once we begin to live,
   We simply go on living!

We sleep upon the ground,
The sky high above covers us;
The moon and stars are our billets,
The sun and the lark wake us!
Though frost and winter threaten:
The fires crackle around us;
There is no dearth in the forest
Where the wood is not too costly!

   Hey, gypsy! Hey, gypsy!
   High-spirited and merry
   Once we begin to live,
   We simply go on living!

Merrily through life thus
We sing our way and wander,
Every day brisk and happy,
One like the other.
Eternal holiday is for us here,
Varied in novelty --
And we would not sell our
Golden freedom for anything!

   Hey, gypsy! Hey, gypsy!
   High-spirited and merry
   Once we begin to live,
   We simply go on living!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Die Zigeunerbande singt:" = "The band of gypsies sings:"
"Zigeunerchor" = "Gypsy chorus"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Die Zigeunerbande singt:", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 6. Volksweisen als Intermezzo, no. 1
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2020-08-06
Line count: 48
Word count: 240

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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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