An einen Boten
| "An einen Boten" | |
|---|---|
Text and melody from Deutscher Liederhort (1893)[1] | |
| Song | |
| Language | German |
| English title | To a Messenger |
| Published | not later than 1778 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
"An einen Boten" (German for "To a messenger") is a short German folk song.
C. F. Nicolai published the lyrics in 1778 in his Ein feyner kleyner Almanach (German: A Fine Little Almanac).[2] Almost unchanged, it was included by C. Brentano and A. von Arnim in their collection of German folk songs, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1806).[3] Goethe called the verses "uniquely comical and good-natured" (einzig lustig und gutlaunig).[4]
Some composers have written tunes for the song.[5][6] A few English translations have been published as well.[7]
Words
Wenn du zu mei'm Schätzel kommst,
Sag: ich ließ' sie grüßen;
Wenn sie fraget: wie mir's geht?
Sag: auf beiden Füßen.
Wenn sie fraget, ob ich krank?
Sag: ich sei gestorben;
Wenn sie an zu weinen fangt,
Sag: ich käme morgen.[3]
If you come to my darling,
Say: I send her greetings;
If she asks how it's going with me,
Say: On both feet.
If she asks whether I am sick,
Say: I have died.
If she begins to weep,
Say: I will come tomorrow.
Melody
Source[1]
References
- ^ a b Erk, Ludwig; Böhme, Franz Magnus, eds. (1893). Deutscher Liederhort: Auswahl der vorzüglicheren deutschen Volkslieder, nach Wort und Weise aus der Vorzeit und Gegenwart (in German). Vol. II. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. p. 331, no. 510d – via Hathi Trust.
- ^ Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, ed. (1778). "Wenn du bey meyn Schatzgen kommst". Eyn feyner kleyner Almanach (in German). Vol. II. Berlin and Stettin: Nicolai. pp. 104–105.
- ^ a b Arnim, Achim von; Brentano, Clemens (1906). Grisebach, Eduard [in German] (ed.). Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder (in German). Vol. I. Leipzig: Hesse und Becker. pp. 153–154 – via Google Books.
- ^ von Goethe, J. W. (1830). Goethes Werke: Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand (in German). Stuttgart and Tübingen: J. G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung. p. 194. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. p. 1362.
- ^ Katalog des Musikalien-Verlages…. J. Rieter-Biedermann. 1896. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018.
- ^ Stokes, Richard. "To a messenger". oxfordlieder.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2025. From The Book of Lieder: The Original Text of Over 1000 Songs, London: Faber, 2005.
External links
- Media related to Lied an einen Boten at Wikimedia Commons
- Text, musical settings, commentary: 2003/04 version, 2011 version