"An einen Boten" (German: To the bode, lit. To the messenger) is a short German folk song.

"An einen Boten"
Song
LanguageGerman
English titleTo the bode
Publishednot later than 1806
GenreFolk
Songwriter(s)Traditional
An einen Boten (melody, revealed by Ludwig Erk)

C. F. Nicolai published the lyrics in his Ein feiner kleiner Almanach (German: A Fine Little Almanac). Almost unchanged, it was included by C. Brentano and A. von Arnim in their collection of German folk songs. Goethe called the verses[1]

"Einzig lustig und gutlaunig".

"uniquely fun and well-minded".

Some composers wrote tunes for the song.[2][3] A few of English translations has been published as well.[2][4]

Words

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German English

Wenn du zu mei'm Schätzel kommst,
Sag: ich ließ' sie grüßen;

Wenn sie fraget: wie mir's geht?
Sag: auf beiden Füßen.

Wenn sie fraget: ob ich krank?
Sag: ich sei gestorben.

Wenn sie an zu weinen fangt,
Sag: ich käme morgen.

When thou comest to my lass,
Give her all my greetings;

When she recketh of myself,
Say: "As ay, he's witty".

Would she ask thee of my health,
Answer her: "He sterved".

Would she sorrow for my death,
Say: "He'll come at morning".

References

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  1. ^ von Goethe, J.W. (1830). Goethes Werke: Vollstandige Ausgabe letzter Hand (in German). Stuttgart, Tübingen. p. 194. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  2. ^ a b Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. p. 1362.
  3. ^ Katalog des Musikalien-Verlages…. J. Rieter-Biedermann. 1896. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18.
  4. ^ "An einen Boten (1919) Op.96". www.oxfordlieder.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
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  • von Arnim, A.; Brentano, C. (1806). "An einen Boten". Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder (in German). p. 153—154. Archived from the original on 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-19.