by
Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948)
Es war mal eine Wanze
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE
Es war mal eine Wanze,
Die ging, die ging auf's Ganze.
Gab einen Duft, der nie verflog,
Und sog und sog.
Doch Musici,
Die packten sie
Und knackten sie.
Und als die Wanze starb und stank,
Ein Lobgesang zum Himmel drang.
About the headline (FAQ)
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) , no title, copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Il était une fois une punaise", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Matthias Fletzberger
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 41
There was once a bedbug
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
There was once a bedbug,
It went, it went the whole way.
Gave forth a scent that never dissipated,
And sucked and sucked.
But Musici [the musicians]
Nabbed it
And cracked it.
And as the bedbug died and stank,
A song of praise was raised toward heaven.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translator's note for the word "bedbug": According to Michael Shane Hurst in Interpreting Richard Strauss’s Der Krämerspiegel from the Perspectives of the Performers and the Audience, DMA dissertation, University of North Texas, 2007, page 116), the word "Wanze" is also German slang for the musical symbol "sharp."
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Alfred Kerr (1867 - 1948), no title
This text was added to the website: 2014-09-13
Line count: 9
Word count: 47