The little lass | There was a poor but lovely little lass

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by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), as Joachim Ringelnatz

Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Das kleine Mädchen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Es war ein armes kleines Mädchen,
Das strickte nur mit kurzen Fädchen;
Ich glaube, Lina war ihr Name.
Sie wurde eine schöne Dame,
War fleißig, brav und lernte gerne,
Da kam ein Prinz aus weiter Ferne.
Der sagte: "Liebe gute Lina,
Komm mit mir auf mein Schloß nach China."
Dort sitzen sie nun alle beide
Auf einem Thron von gelber Seide.

Text Authorship:

by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), as Joachim Ringelnatz [author's text not yet checked 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), "Das kleine Mädchen ", 2008 [medium voice and piano], from Kleine Wesen, no. 14 [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-09
Line count: 10
Word count: 61

The little lass

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

There was a poor but lovely little lass
Of the poorer, lower working class;
Her name was Lina, I believe,
And we should not for her story grieve.
She was hard working, true and versed,
And through a Chinese prince her life reversed.
He said, "Lina, you are worthy fair,
Come be my bride beyond all compare."
And now they're bound by loving tether
On a throne of yellow silk together.

Text Authorship:

by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The little lass", 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 German (Deutsch) by Hans Bötticher (1883 - 1934), as Joachim Ringelnatz
- Go to the text page.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 71