by
Rudolph Baumbach (1840 - 1905)
Die Amsel
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Es war einmal bei mir daheim
Ein alter Vogelfänger,
Der fing mit Garn und Vogelleim
Des Waldes bunte Sänger.
Er setzte ihnen Würmer vor
Und zarte Aemseneier
Und schulte ihnen Stimm' und Ohr
Mit einer Vogelleier.
Die junge Amsel war sein Stolz,
Der Sängerinnen Krone,
Die hatte hungrig sich im Holz
Gefangen in der Dohne.
Sie sang "Heil Dir im Siegeskranz"
Und "Morgen muss ich scheiden",
"Wir winden dir den Jungfernkranz"
Und "Röslein auf der Haiden".
Gieb Meister Acht! Das Thürlein klafft,
Und draussen scheint die Sonne.
Eh' du's gedacht, entrinnt der Haft
Die schlaue Primadonne.
Sie liess den vollen Futtertrog,
Den Meister und die Leier,
Sie schwang die Flügelein und flog
Zum Erlenbusch am Weiher.
Die Amsel sitzt im Erlenhag
Und singt die alte Weise,
Die Adam schon am ersten Tag
Vernahm im Paradeise.
Sie singt, ist sie gestorben nicht,
Ihr freies Lied noch heute. --
Und die Moral von der Geschicht,
Die macht euch selbst, ihr Leute.
Confirmed with Rudolpf Baumbach Krug und Tintenfass, Leipzig: Verlag von A.G. Liebeskind, 1887, pages 92-93.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The Blackbird", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2020-01-15
Line count: 32
Word count: 159
The Blackbird
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
In my hometown there once was
An old bird-catcher,
With thread and bird-lime he caught
The colourful singers of the forest.
He gave them worms to eat
And delicate ants’ eggs
And schooled their voice and ear
With a hurdy-gurdy.
The young blackbird was his pride and joy,
The queen of all the singers;
Hungry, in the woods, she had
Gotten caught in a snare.
She sang, "Hail to you in the victor's wreath"
And "Tomorrow I must depart",
"We twine the maiden-wreath for you"
And "Little rose upon the heath".
Master, take care! The little door is agape,
And outdoors the sun is shining.
Before you know it, from her prison escapes
The clever prima donna.
She left the full feed trough,
The master and the hurdy gurdy,
She spread her little winds and flew
To the alder shrub by the pond.
The blackbird sits in the alder hedge
And sings the old lay
That Adam already heard on
The first day in paradise.
Unless she has died, she still sings
Her free song today. --
And the moral of the story
You people may figure out for yourselves.
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.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2020-01-16
Line count: 32
Word count: 190