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by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)
Translation © by Bertram Kottmann
The Owl and the Pussycat
Language: English
I The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful [Pussy]1 you are, you are, you are! What a beautiful Pussy you are." II Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl, How charmingly sweet you sing. O let us be married, too long we have tarried; But what shall we do for a ring?" They sailed away, for a year and a day, To the land where the Bong-tree grows, And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood With a ring [at]2 the end of his nose, his nose, his nose, With a ring [at]1 the end of his nose. III "Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will" So they took it away, and were married next day By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince, and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon. And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand. They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon, They danced by the light of the moon.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Harmati: "puss"
2 Wilkinson: "in"
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
1 Harmati: "puss"
2 Wilkinson: "in"
Text Authorship:
- by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888), "The Owl and the Pussycat", written 1867, appears in Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, first published 1871 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat", 2002 [ soprano and piano ], from "Calico Pie" and Other Nonsense, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johan Backer-Lunde (1874 - 1958), "The Owl and the Pussycat", op. 42 no. 8 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Fairfax Birch (b. 1917), "The Owl and the Pussycat" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Brian Boydell (1917 - 2000), "The Owl and the Pussycat", 1952 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn Dale , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1973 [ voice and piano ], from Eight Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alice Decevee (b. 1904), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1940 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Henry Louis) Reginald De Koven (1859 - 1920), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published <<1906 [ TTBB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clinton Elliott , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1967 [ SSAA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "The Owl and the Pussycat" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Farber (b. 1945), "The Owl and the Pussycat", 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Five Diddles for Voice and Piano on Poems by Edward Lear, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dudley Glass , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Hageman (1881 - 1966), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1955 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Arthur) Clifford Harker , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1958 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sandor Harmati (1892 - 1936), "The Owl and the Pussy-cat", published 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Christian Victor Hely-Hutchinson (1901 - 1947), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published c1927 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Nonsense Songs, no. 1, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Ingraham , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published <<1906 [ voice and piano ], from Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Johnston (b. 1917), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1966 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donovan Leitch (b. 1946), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1971 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from HMS Donovan [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Lindsay (flourished 1855-1875), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1871-2 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Montague Fawcett Phillips (1885 - 1969), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1957 [ SS chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fay Pinchin , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1956 [ unison chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edwin Roxburgh (b. 1937), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1972 [ narrator and orchestra ], from How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Milford Rutter, CBE (b. 1945), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1974 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Five Childhood Lyrics, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Roberts Seaman (b. 1934), "The Owl and the Pussycat", 1957, first performed 1957 [ SATB quartet ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Humphrey Searle (1915 - 1982), "The Owl and the Pussycat", copyright © 1953 [ speaker, flute or violin, violoncello, and guitar or piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mátyás György Seiber (1905 - 1960), "The Owl and the Pussycat", 1957 [ high voice and piano (or violin and guitar) ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexander Semmler (b. 1900), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1966 [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Jethro Silver (1870 - ?), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1929 [ SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "The Owl and the Pussycat ", 1971 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971), "The Owl and the Pussycat", 1966, published 1967 [ voice and piano ], note: also singable in Russian, published posthumously [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1957), "The Owl and the Pussycat " [ soprano and piano ], from A Little Nonsense, songs to texts of Edward Lear for soprano, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick William Wadely (d. 1970), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1958 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Watson , "The Owl and the Pussycat", published 1922 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Haydn Wood (1882 - 1959), "The Owl and the Pussycat", published <<1951 [ SATB quartet and piano ], from Playtime [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "Nosegay" [ voice and piano ], from Eternal Summer, no. 12
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Der Eul’ und die Miezekatz", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Совёнок и Кошечка", copyright © 1982, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-19
Line count: 36
Word count: 222
Der Eul’ und die Miezekatz
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
I Der Eul’ und die Miezekatz fuhr’n zur See in ´nem erbsgrünen Boot zu zwein, wickelten flinke viel Honig und Pinke hinein in ´nen Fünf-Pfund-Schein. Der Eul’rich sang bei der Sterne Schein und spielte Gitarre dazu: „O liebste Mieze! O Miezekatz mein, keine schönere Mieze als du, als du, als du! Keine schönere Mieze als du.“ II Sprach zum Eul’rich die Katz, „Gefiederter Schatz, dein Lied begeistert mich sehr. Komm, lasst uns schnell freien, eh’ wir es bereuen, doch wo kommt der Ehering her?“ Fort ging es dann, wohl ein Jahr so verrann, die Reise zum Bong-Baum-Land ging: Im Wald stand allein ein rüssliges Schwein, an der Nasenspitz’ trug es ´nen Ring, ´nen Ring, ´nen Ring, an der Nasenspitz’ trug es ´nen Ring. III „Für ein Pfund, bitte sehr, gibst den Ring du uns her?“ „Na klar“, sprach das Schwein, „abgemacht!“ Gab den Ring dann der Braut, und die beiden getraut hat der Truthahn in selbiger Nacht. Drauf gab es, ´s ist Sitte, Gehacktes und Quitte, sie nahmen’s mit Gabellöff ein. Und Hand in Hand, drunt’ am Strande im Sand tanzten sie in des Mondes Schein, im Schein, im Schein, tanzten sie in des Mondes Schein.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888), "The Owl and the Pussycat", written 1867, appears in Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, first published 1871
This text was added to the website: 2015-01-26
Line count: 36
Word count: 196