Three sweet little maidens sat upon the fence

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by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Drei süße, kleine Dirnen sassen auf dem...

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: ENG

Drei süße, kleine Dirnen sassen auf dem Zaun
    Sassen auf dem Zaun,
    Sassen auf dem Zaun;
Drei süße, kleine Dirnen sassen auf dem Zaun
  An einem schönen Tag im September.

Wovon sprachen die süssen, kleinen Dirn'
    Süssen, kleinen Dirn',
    Süssen, kleinen Dirn'?
Wovon sprachen die süssen, kleinen Dirn'
  An dem schönen Tag im September?

Sie sprachen von Beeren und Kornblumen blau,
    Kornblumen blau,
    Kornblumen blau;
Sie wussten es selber nicht mehr genau,
So schön war der Tag im September.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway, der deutsche Text von Käthe Freiligrath-Kroeker, München: Theodor Stroefers Kunstverlag, [1880], page 62.

Text Authorship:

by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904), no title, appears in Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901), no title, appears in Under the Window: Pictures & Rhymes for Children, London, first published 1879
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Ernst Frank (1847 - 1889), "Drei süße kleine Dirnen sassen auf dem Zaun", op. 14 no. 10, published 1881 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with piano ], from 16 Duettinen aus 'Am Fenster' in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway, no. 10, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]
by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Der wunderschöne Tag im September", op. 154b (Zehn Kinderlieder) no. 2 (1879) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2020-05-31
Line count: 15
Word count: 79

Three sweet little maidens sat upon the...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Three sweet little maidens sat upon the fence
    Sat upon the fence,
    Sat upon the fence;
Three sweet little maidens sat upon the fence
  On a lovely day in September.

Of what did they speak, the sweet little maidens
    Sweet little maidens,
    Sweet little maidens?
Of what did they speak, the sweet little maidens
  On that lovely day in September?

They spoke of berries and blue cornflowers,
    Blue cornflowers,
    Blue cornflowers;
They themselves did not exactly remember anymore,
  So lovely was that day in September.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Der wunderschöne Tag im September" = "The wondrously lovely day in September"
"Drei süße kleine Dirnen sassen auf dem Zaun" = "Three sweet little maidens sat upon the fence"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker (1845 - 1904), no title, appears in Am Fenster in Bildern und Versen von Kate Greenaway
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901), no title, appears in Under the Window: Pictures & Rhymes for Children, London, first published 1879
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-09-06
Line count: 15
Word count: 85