O Tannenbaum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.
A Tannenbaum is a fir tree (German die Tanne) or Christmas tree (der Weihnachtsbaum). Its evergreen qualities have long inspired musicians to write several "Tannenbaum" songs in German.
The best known version was written in 1824 by a Leipzig organist and teacher named Ernst Anschütz. The melody is an old folk tune. The first known "Tannenbaum" song lyrics date back to 1550. A similar 1615 song by Melchior Franck (1573–1639) begins:
Ach Tannenbaum, ach Tannenbaum, du bist ein edler Zweig! Du grünest uns den Winter, die liebe Sommerzeit.
During the Third Reich "O Tannenbaum" was promoted by the Nazis as part of their program to remove the more Christian parts of the Holiday Season.[1]
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[edit] German lyrics
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat schon zur Winterzeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren!
A common variation replaces the word "treu" (trustworthy) with "grün" (green) in verse 1.
[edit] English lyrics (two versions)
| I | II |
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O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, |
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree! |
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O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, |
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, |
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O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, |
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, |
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Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree |
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Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree |
[edit] Other uses
The tune has also been used (as a contrafactum) to carry other texts.
- Pop singer Jack Jones - "Gift of Love", recorded for his 1962 album, Gift of Love.
- Knights of Columbus - Opening Ode - Along with prayer, it is sung to begin meetings.
- British Labour Party - The Red Flag
- Cornell University - Evening Song
- Nankai University (Tianjin, China) - university song
- Maryland - Maryland, My Maryland - official state song
- Iowa - The Song of Iowa - official state song[2]
- Florida - Florida, My Florida - former state song[3]
- College of the Holy Cross - O Holy Cross - official school song [4][5]
[edit] Cover versions
- A Charlie Brown Christmas - instrumental, arranged by Vince Guaraldi
- Snoopy's Christmas - introduction cites the first two lines of the second verse of the song, in German.
- Classic Christmas - instrumental, arranged by Bradley Joseph.
[edit] Media
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[edit] References
- ^ ilhelm Beilstein, "Wie wir Weihnachten feiern," N.S.-Briefe, December 1939, pp. 327-328. The section is reprinted from Beilstein's Lichtfeier. Sinn. Geschichte, Brauch und Feier der deutschen Weihnacht (Munich: Deutscher Volksverlag, 1939).
- ^ "New Citizen Civic Handbook, page 44" (PDF). sos.state.ia.us. 2006. http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/NewCitizens/EntireEnglish.pdf. Retrieved on December 26 2006.
- ^ "Rev. C. V. Waugh". Alachua County Library District Heritage Collection. http://heritage.acld.lib.fl.us/1351-1400/1374.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ "Holy Cross Alma Mater". College of the Holy Cross. http://goholycross.cstv.com/traditions/holy-songs.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-20.
- ^ "Dartmouth v. Holy Cross band recap". Dartmouth College. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dcmb/shows/2004/holycross.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-20.
[edit] External links
- Notenblatt des Weihnachtsliedes in deutsch - sheet music in JPEG format, midi, and lyrics to O Tannenbaum
- "O Tannenbaum" multilingual - midi and lyrics for O Tannenbaum and O Christmas Tree
- Melody "O Tannenbaum" (MIDI)
- Notes "O Tannenbaum" (sheet music in GIF)
- "Eglite" - old recording of the song and article from The Hermann von Helmholtz Center for Cultural Technology (article in German language)
