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Glücklich lebt, vor Noth geborgen, Gottes Vöglein in der Welt, Kennt nicht Mühen, kennt nicht Sorgen, Denn sein Nest ist leicht bestellt! Vöglein träumt auf grünem Baume, Bis ihm Gottes Ruf erklingt Aus dem morgenhellen Raume; Und es schüttelt sich und singt. Auf den Lenz, den duftig frischen, Folgt der schwüle Sommer bald, Nebel, Regen, Stürme mischen Sich im Herbste feucht und kalt; Allen Menschen wird es trüber -- Fliegt zum Süden Vögelein Über's blaue Meer hinüber -- Fliegt zu neuem Frühling ein!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Friedrich Bodenstedt, Alte und neue Gedichte, Erster Band, Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei (R.v. Decker), 1867, page 142.
Note: in many older editions, the spelling of the capitalized word "über" becomes "Ueber", but this is often due to the printing process and not to rules of orthography, since the lower-case version is not "ueber", so we use "Über".
Authorship
- by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Das Vöglein", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 6. Volksweisen als Intermezzo, no. 6 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
- a text in Russian (Русский) misattributed to Anton Antonovich Delvig (1798 - 1831) and by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837), appears in Цыганы (Cygany), 1824, first published 1827
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Ingeborg (Starck) Bronsart von Schellendorf (1840 - 1913), "Das Vöglein", op. 10 (Sechs Gedichte für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vasily Pavlovich Kalafati (1869 - 1942), "Glücklich lebt, vor Noth geborgen", op. 3 [ four-part mixed chorus and piano ], Leipzig, Belaieff [sung text not yet checked]
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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 81
Happily lives, safe from misery, God's birdlet in the world, Knows not troubles, knows not worries, For its nest is easily kept in order! Birdlet dreams upon the green tree Until, from the morning-bright expanses, God's call sounds to it; And it shakes itself and sings. The scented, fresh springtime is soon Followed by the humid summer, Mists, rain, and storms Mingle in autumn, damp and cold; All people find it more dreary -- Birdlet flies southward Over the blue ocean -- Flies into a new springtime!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Das Vöglein" = "The birdlet"
"Glücklich lebt, vor Noth geborgen" = "Happily lives, safe from misery"
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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Das Vöglein", appears in Alte und neue Gedichte, in 6. Volksweisen als Intermezzo, no. 6
- a text in Russian (Русский) misattributed to Anton Antonovich Delvig (1798 - 1831) and by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837), appears in Цыганы (Cygany), 1824, first published 1827
This text was added to the website: 2020-07-31
Line count: 16
Word count: 85