An einen Boten

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

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 funny 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[edit]

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".

^ von Goethe, J.W. (1830). Goethes Werke: Vollstandige Ausgabe letzter Hand (in German). Stuttgart, Tübingen. p. 194. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
^ ^a ^b Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. p. 1362.
^ Katalog des Musikalien-Verlages…. J. Rieter-Biedermann. 1896. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18.
^ "An einen Boten (1919) Op.96". www.oxfordlieder.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.

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.