Dem Kellner:
 Setze mir nicht, du Grobian,
 Mir den Krug so derb vor die Nase!
 Wer mir Wein bringt, sehe mich freundlich an,
 Sonst trübt sich der Eilfer im Glase.

Dem Schenken:
 Du zierlicher Knabe, du komm herein,
 Was stehst du denn da auf der Schwelle?
 Du sollst mir künftig der Schenke sein,
 Jeder Wein ist schmackhaft und helle.

C. Fussell sets stanza 2

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with footnotes

Confirmed with Goethe's sämmtliche Werke in vierzig Bänden, Vollständige, neugeordnete Ausgabe, Vierter Band, Stuttgart und Augsburg, J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1856, page 116.

Note: the word "Eilfer" (line 1-4) is not a typo for "Elfer" as some CD booklets might lead one to believe. Cf. Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm: "Eilfer"

Authorship

• by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), no title, written 1815, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 9. Das Schenkenbuch -- Saki Nameh [author's text checked 2 times 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 Charles Clement Fussell (b. 1938), "Du zierlicher Knabe", 1988, rev. 1998, stanza 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Türckisches Schenkenlied", op. 50 (Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 1 (1838), published 1840 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 2 times]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Setze mir nicht, du Grobian", op. 25 no. 6 (1840), published 1840 [ voice and piano ], from Myrten, no. 6, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Marta Garcia Cadena) , "No m'empenyis a terra, tu groller", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Don't throw it down, you boor", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Butor, ne me mets pas le pichet", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Non mi sbattere così, villano", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Emilia Maxim

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 59