This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.
Click here to listen to this song with David Stout and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Der Musikant
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Lebe eben wie ich kann,
Wollt ich mir auch Mühe geben,
Passt es mir doch gar nicht an.
Schöne alte Lieder weiss ich;
In der Kälte, ohne Schuh,
Draussen in die Saiten reiss ich,
Weiss nicht, wo ich abends ruh’.
Manche Schöne macht wohl Augen,
Meinet, ich gefiel ihr sehr,
Wenn ich nur was wollte taugen,
So ein armer Lump nicht wär. --
Mag dir Gott ein’n Mann bescheren,
Wohl mit Haus und Hof verseh'n!
Wenn wir zwei zusammen wären,
Möcht mein Singen mir vergeh'n.
The minstrel
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
And live as best I can,
And were I to exert myself,
It wouldn’t suit at all.
Beautiful old songs I know,
Barefoot out in the cold
I pluck my strings,
Not knowing where I’ll rest at night.
Many a beauty gives me looks,
Says she’d fancy me,
If I’d make something of myself,
Were not such a beggar wretch. –
May God give you a husband,
Well provided with house and hime!
If we two were together,
My singing might fade away.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Der Musikant
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
The minstrel
English source:
Richard Stokes
Wandern lieb’ ich für mein Leben,
I simply love to wander,
Lebe eben wie ich kann,
And live as best I can,
Wollt ich mir auch Mühe geben,
And were I to exert myself,
Passt es mir doch gar nicht an.
It wouldn’t suit at all.
Schöne alte Lieder weiss ich;
Beautiful old songs I know,
In der Kälte, ohne Schuh,
Barefoot out in the cold
Draussen in die Saiten reiss ich,
I pluck my strings,
Weiss nicht, wo ich abends ruh’.
Not knowing where I’ll rest at night.
Manche Schöne macht wohl Augen,
Many a beauty gives me looks,
Meinet, ich gefiel ihr sehr,
Says she’d fancy me,
Wenn ich nur was wollte taugen,
If I’d make something of myself,
So ein armer Lump nicht wär. --
Were not such a beggar wretch. –
Mag dir Gott ein’n Mann bescheren,
May God give you a husband,
Wohl mit Haus und Hof verseh'n!
Well provided with house and hime!
Wenn wir zwei zusammen wären,
If we two were together,
Möcht mein Singen mir vergeh'n.
My singing might fade away.
Composer
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Filipp Jakob Wolf was born on 13 March 1860, the fourth of six surviving children, in Windischgraz, Styria, then part of the Austrian Empire. He was taught the piano and violin by his father at an early age and continued to study piano at the…
Poet
Joseph von Eichendorff
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism. Ever since their publication and up to the present day, some…