Les oiseaux | Comme c'est adorable et joyeux

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by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Die Vögel

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Wie lieblich und fröhlich,
Zu schweben, zu singen,
[Von]¹ glänzender Höhe
Zur Erde zu blicken!

Die Menschen sind thöricht,
Sie können nicht [zwitschern]².
Sie jammern in Nöthen,
Wir flattern gen Himmel.

Der Jäger will tödten,
Dem Früchte wir pickten;
Wir müssen ihn höhnen,
Und Beute gewinnen.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1802. Herausgegeben von A. W. Schlegel und L. Tieck. Tübingen, in der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1802, page 135; and with Friedrich Schlegel's sämmtliche Werke. Erster Band. Gedichte. Berlin, bei Julius Eduard Hitzig, 1809, page 14.

¹ Schubert: "In"
² Schlegel (1809 and later editions), and Schubert: "fliegen"

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), "Die Vögel", appears in Abendröte, in Erster Teil, no. 3, first published 1802 [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Vögel", op. posth. 172 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6, D 691 (1820?), published 1865 [ voice and piano ], C. A. Spina, VN 16784, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Els ocells", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De vogels", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (David Gordon) , "Birds", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Les oiseaux", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Uccelli", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: David Gordon , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 46

Les oiseaux

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Comme c'est adorable et joyeux
De planer, de chanter,
Depuis des hauteurs éclatantes
De regarder la terre !

Les humains sont sots,
Ils ne peuvent pas voler.
Ils se lamentent de leurs misères.
Nous volons vers le paradis.

Le chasseur veut nous tuer,
Pour les fruits que nous avons cueillis ;
Nous devons nous moquer de lui
Et saisir notre butin.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2010 by Guy Laffaille, (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 von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), "Die Vögel", appears in Abendröte, in Erster Teil, no. 3, first published 1802
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-31
Line count: 12
Word count: 59