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Bilingual Bedtime/German songs
WiegenliedLullaby

Guten Abend, gut' Nacht.

The melody of Guten Abend, gut' Nacht on a staff, as engraved in the book
Download the tune

The melody as written on the staff, so you can learn the tune before you sing.

Verse 1

  1. Guten Abend, gut' Nacht,goo-tuhn ah-buhnt, goot nahkht,Good evening, good night,
  2. Mit Rosen bedacht,mit roh-zuhn buh-dahkht,Roofed over with roses,
  3. Mit Näglein besteckt,mit nehg-lain buh-shtehkt,Adorned with cloves,
  4. Schlüpf unter die Deck,shlewpf oon-ter dee dehk,Slip in under the cover,
  5. Morgen früh, wenn Gott will,mor-guhn frew, vehn got vil,Tomorrow morning, if God wills it,
  6. Wirst du wieder geweckt.virst doo vee-der guh-vehkt.You will be woken again.

Verse 2

  1. Guten Abend, gut' Nacht,goo-tuhn ah-buhnt, goot nahkht,Good evening, good night,
  2. Von Englein bewacht,fon ehng-lain buh-vahkht,Watched over by little angels,
  3. Die zeigen im Traumdee tsai-guhn im trowmIn a dream they show
  4. Dir Christkindleins Baum:deer krist-kint-lains bowm:You the Christ child's tree:
  5. Schlaf nun selig und süß,shlahf noon zay-likh oont zews,Now sleep blessed and sweet,
  6. Schau im Traum 's Paradies!show im trowms pah-rah-dees!See paradise in a dream!

About this song

Brahms wrote this in 1868 for a friend's new baby, and his tune is the one music boxes play. Verse 1 comes from Des Knaben Wunderhorn of 1808 and Georg Scherer added verse 2 in 1849; both stand as Brahms printed them. Näglein are not little nails but cloves. Rock to the three beats.

Where it comes from

The words: Johannes Brahms, Wiegenlied, Op. 49 Nr. 4, in Fifty Songs with Piano Accompaniment, Band 1 (G. Schirmer, New York, 1910), S. 84 to 85, Platte 22009.

The tune: Johannes Brahms, Wiegenlied op. 49 Nr. 4 (1868), voice part, transcribed by eye from the same Schirmer 1910 print the words come from (pages 84 to 85, plate 22009, transposed to D flat for the low-voice volume, headed 'Original key Eb major'). Cross-checked note for note against two further prints, all three agreeing: the public-domain engraving on Wikimedia Commons 'Guten Abend, gut Nacht (Brahms).jpg', from Erk and Friedlaender, Deutscher Liederschatz (C. F. Peters, Edition Peters 10613), song Nr. 69, in D major; and the LilyPond score block in the Melodie section of the de.wikipedia article 'Guten Abend, gut' Nacht', in E flat, Brahms's own key. All three beam the same six two-note melismas, and the Schirmer print draws extender lines under them. Engraved here in F major, range F4 to F5, one statement of the tune closing on the tonic

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Seven German Songs for Children

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Der Mond ist aufgegangenAll 37 songsSchlaf, Kindlein, schlaf
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