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 Lydia Teuscher and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Text & Translation
Mausfallen-Sprüchlein
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Liebe Mäusin oder Maus,
Stelle dich nur kecklich ein
Heute nacht bei Mondenschein!
Mach aber die Tür fein hinter dir zu,
Hörst du?
Dabei hüte dein Schwänzchen!
Nach Tische singen wir,
Nach Tische springen wir
Und machen ein Tänzchen:
Witt witt!
Meine alte Katze tanzt wahrscheinlich mit.
Mousetrap incantation
German translation ©
Richard Stokes
Dear Mrs or Mr Mouse,
Just drop boldly by
Tonight in the moonlight!
But be sure to close the door behind you,
Do you hear?
And watch out for your tail!
After supper we’ll sing,
After supper we’ll leap
And dance a little dance;
Witt witt!
My old cat might well dance with us too.
Mausfallen-Sprüchlein
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Mousetrap incantation
German source:
Richard Stokes
Kleine Gäste, kleines Haus.
Little guests, little house.
Liebe Mäusin oder Maus,
Dear Mrs or Mr Mouse,
Stelle dich nur kecklich ein
Just drop boldly by
Heute nacht bei Mondenschein!
Tonight in the moonlight!
Mach aber die Tür fein hinter dir zu,
But be sure to close the door behind you,
Hörst du?
Do you hear?
Dabei hüte dein Schwänzchen!
And watch out for your tail!
Nach Tische singen wir,
After supper we’ll sing,
Nach Tische springen wir
After supper we’ll leap
Und machen ein Tänzchen:
And dance a little dance;
Witt witt!
Witt witt!
Meine alte Katze tanzt wahrscheinlich mit.
My old cat might well dance with us too.
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
Eduard Mörike
Eduard Friedrich Mörike was a German Romantic poet. Mörike was born in Ludwigsburg. His father was Karl Friedrich Mörike (d. 1817), a district medical councilor; his mother was Charlotte Bayer. He attended the Latin school at Ludwigsburg, and the…