"Mutter, ach Mutter! es hungert mich,
Gib mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich."
  "Warte nur, mein liebes Kind,
  Morgen wollen wir säen [geschwind]1."

Und als [das Korn]2 gesäet war,
[Rief]3 das Kind noch immerdar:
"Mutter, ach Mutter! es hungert mich,
Gib mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich."
  "Warte nur, mein liebes Kind,
  Morgen wollen wir [ernten]4 [geschwind]1."

Und als [das Korn]3 [geerntet]5 war,
[Rief]3 das Kind noch immerdar:
"Mutter, ach Mutter! es hungert mich,
Gib mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich."
  "Warte nur, mein liebes Kind,
  Morgen wollen wir dreschen [geschwind]1."

Und als [das Korn]3 gedroschen war,
[Rief]3 das Kind noch immerdar:
"Mutter, ach Mutter! es hungert mich,
Gib mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich."
  "Warte nur, mein liebes Kind,
  Morgen wollen wir mahlen [geschwind]1."

Und als [das Korn]3 gemahlen war,
[Rief]3 das Kind noch immerdar:
"Mutter, ach Mutter! es hungert mich,
Gib mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich."
  "Warte nur, mein liebes Kind,
  Morgen wollen wir backen [geschwind]1."

Und als das Brot gebacken war,
[Lag das Kind auf der Totenbahr]6.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ not set by Schreker
² Schreker: "es nun"
³ Schreker: "Sprach"
⁴ Schreker: "schneiden"
⁵ Schreker: "geschnitten"
⁶ Söderman: "Da lag das Kind schon auf der Bahr'

Text Authorship:

• from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , appears in Des Knaben Wunderhorn, earlier title: Verspätung (mündlich) [author's text not yet checked 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 (August Julius) Schreker (1878 - 1934), "Das hungernde Kind", <<1900 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johan August Söderman (1832 - 1876), "Mutter, ach Mutter, es hungert mich", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], from Tre tyska visor i folkton = Drei deutsche Lieder im Volkston, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Julius Weismann (1879 - 1950), "Verspätung", op. 23 (Zehn Lieder) no. 4 (1907/8) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Erich J. Wolff (1874 - 1913), "Verspätung", Lieder no. 40, published 1914 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Gustav Mahler.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright ©
• ENG English [singable] (Addie Funk)
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La vie ici-bas", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Mamma, mammina! Ho tanta fame", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Kalinina) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Elena María Accinelli) , "Madre, oh Madre! Tengo hambre", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Jakob Kellner

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 166

"Mother, oh Mother! I'm hungry;
Give me bread, or I shall die!"
"Wait a little, my darling child;
Tomorrow we shall sow quickly."

And when the corn had been sown,
The child wailed again:
"Mother, oh Mother! I'm hungry;
Give me bread, or I shall die!"
"Wait a little, my darling child;
Tomorrow we shall harvest quickly."

And when the corn had been harvested,
The child wailed again:
"Mother, oh Mother! I'm hungry;
Give me bread, or I shall die!" 
"Wait a little, my darling child;
Tomorrow we shall thresh quickly."

And when the corn had been threshed,
The child wailed again:
"Mother, oh Mother! I'm hungry; 
Give me bread, or I shall die!"
"Wait a little, my darling child;
Tomorrow we shall grind quickly."

And when the corn had been ground,
The child wailed again:
"Mother, oh Mother! I'm hungry;
Give me bread, or I shall die!"
"Wait a little, my darling child;
 Tomorrow we shall bake quickly."

And when the bread had been baked,
The child was lying on the funeral bier.