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Bilingual Bedtime/German songs
ErzählliedStory song

Hänsel und Gretel verliefen sich im Wald.

The melody of Hänsel und Gretel verliefen sich im Wald on a staff, as engraved in the book
Historische Fassung · Historical version
Download the tune

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

Verse 1

  1. Hänsel und Gretel verliefen sich im Wald;hehn-zuhl oont gray-tuhl fer-lee-fuhn zikh im vahlt;Hansel and Gretel lost their way in the wood;
  2. es war so finster und auch gar grimmig kalt;ehs vahr zoh fins-ter oont owkh gahr grim-mikh kahlt;it was so dark and grimly cold as well;
  3. kamen an ein Häuschen von Pfefferkuchen fein.kah-muhn ahn ain hoys-khuhn fon pfehf-fer-koo-khuhn fain.they came to a little house of fine gingerbread.
  4. Wer mag der Herr wohl von diesem Häuschen sein?vair mahk dair hair vohl fon dee-zuhm hoys-khuhn zain?Who might the master of this little house be?

Verse 2

  1. O weh, da kommt eine garst'ge Hex' heraus,oh vay, dah komt ai-nuh gahrst-guh hehks hehr-ows,Oh dear, out comes a nasty witch,
  2. locket die Kinder ins kleine Kuchenhaus,lok-kuht dee kin-der ins klai-nuh koo-khuhn-hows,she lures the children into the little cake house,
  3. stellet sich gar freundlich, doch Hänsel, welche Not!shtehl-luht zikh gahr froynt-likh, dokh hehn-zuhl, vehl-khuh noht!she puts on a very friendly manner, but Hansel, what trouble!
  4. sie will dich braten und bäckt dazu schon Brot.zee vil dikh brah-tuhn oont behkt dah-tsoo shohn broht.she wants to roast you, and is baking bread to go with it.

Verse 3

  1. Doch als die Hexe zum Ofen schaut hinein,dokh ahls dee hehk-suh tsoom oh-fuhn showt hi-nain,But as the witch is looking into the oven,
  2. wird sie geschoben von unserm Gretelein,virt zee guh-shoh-buhn fon oon-zerm gray-tuh-lain,she is given a push by our little Gretel,
  3. muss im Feuer braten. Die Kinder gehn nach Haus.moos im foy-er brah-tuhn. dee kin-der gayn nahkh hows.and has to roast in the fire. The children go home.
  4. Nun ist das Märchen von unsrer Hexe aus.noon ist dahs mair-khuhn fon oonz-rer hehk-suh ows.Now the tale of our witch is over.

About this song

Paul Hoffmann, a schoolmaster in Halle, printed this in 1907 with a ring game beside it: the children link arms to make the gingerbread house. Nine of its notes differ from the tune families sing today, so the staff here is the older one. Pfefferkuchen is gingerbread, and the children walk home safe.

Where it comes from

The words: Paul Hoffmann, Lied und Spiel. Neue Singspiele für die Jugend, 4. vermehrte Auflage (Gebauer-Schwetschke Druckerei und Verlag m. b. H., Halle a. S., 1907), S. 18f., Nr. 6 "Hänsel und Gretel".

The tune: The engraving of the source print itself, which carries verse 1's own syllables under the staff: Paul Hoffmann, Lied und Spiel. Neue Singspiele für die Jugend, 4. vermehrte Auflage (Gebauer-Schwetschke Druckerei und Verlag m. b. H., Halle a. S., 1907), S. 18, Nr. 6 "Hänsel und Gretel", F major, 2/4, one voice, no accompaniment, no tempo mark. Four systems of four bars, one line of verse 1 under each, every system closing with a quarter note and a quarter rest. Every pitch was measured against the five staff lines of the page image; the page is skewed, so the five lines were fitted per system as straight lines across the width (system 1's top line runs from y = 250.3 at x = 100 to y = 257.0 at x = 700, the rest parallel below at 10.7 px spacing) and the noteheads were read with those lines masked out, so a head sitting in a space is not dragged onto the line beside it. All 45 came out within 0.15 of a staff step of an exact degree. Cross-checked degree for degree against the score block in the Text und Melodie section of the de.wikipedia article "Hänsel und Gretel verliefen sich im Wald" (D major, 4/4, all values doubled, the same rhythm bar for bar): brought to the same tonic the two agree on 36 of the 45 pitches, in order. The print is the older reading and is what is engraved. Its nine divergences: lines 1 and 2 open on the tonic f' where Wikipedia opens on the fifth (the print's line 4 does open on the fifth, and that notehead sits two staff steps higher on the page, so the two openings really are different notes); lines 1, 2 and 4 repeat a' on the sixth note where Wikipedia drops to the tonic; lines 1, 2 and 4 dip to f' on the eighth note, making a g f g a turn where Wikipedia holds degree 2; and line 3 has g' on "fer" where Wikipedia has degree 3. The print's own F major is kept, since F is inside the book's C-to-G range; range f' to c'', a fifth. 45 notes for the 45 syllables of verse 1

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Seven German Songs for Children

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Es war eine MutterAll 37 songsEs tönen die Lieder
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