My child, things here are quite the same

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by Wilhelm Busch (1832 - 1908)

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Mein Kind, es sind allhier die Dinge

Language: English

Mein Kind, es sind allhier die Dinge,
[Gleichwohl]¹, ob große, ob geringe,
Im wesentlichen so verpackt,
Daß man sie nicht wie Nüsse knackt.

Wie wolltest du dich unterwinden,
Kurzweg die Menschen zu ergründen.
Du kennst sie nur von außenwärts.
Du siehst die Weste, nicht das Herz.

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View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Schneider: "Gleichviel"

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Busch (1832 - 1908), no title, appears in Schein und Sein [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), "Schein und Sein", 2008 [ medium-high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Enjott Schneider (b. 1950), "Motto", 2007, published c2009 [ medium voice and piano ], from Kinderfreuden : Fünf Lieder für mittlere Singstimme und Klavier nach Gedichten von Wilhelm Busch, no. 5, Mainz ; New York : Schott [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-08
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

My child, things here are quite the same

Language: English after the English

My child, things here are quite the same,
No matter whether big or small,
Or well presented,
That one cannot crack that nut.

Would you less than understand
The deep truth of men just like that?
You know them only from the outside,
Seeing the clothes, but not the man.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Wilhelm Busch (1832 - 1908), no title, appears in Schein und Sein
- Go to the text page.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 50