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Bilingual Bedtime/German songs
FestliedFestive song

O Tannenbaum.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum

The melody of O Tannenbaum 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. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  2. wie treu sind deine Blätter!vee troy zint dai-nuh bleht-ter!how faithful your leaves are!
  3. Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,doo grewnst nikht noor tsoor zom-mer-tsait,You are green not only in summertime,
  4. nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.nain, owkh im vin-ter, vehn ehs shnait.no, in winter too, when it snows.
  5. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  6. wie treu sind deine Blätter!vee troy zint dai-nuh bleht-ter!how faithful your leaves are!

Verse 2

  1. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  2. du kannst mir sehr gefallen;doo kahnst meer zair guh-fahl-luhn;you please me very much;
  3. wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeitvee oft haht nikht tsoor vai-nahkhts-tsaithow often, at Christmas time, has
  4. ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!ain bowm fon deer mikh hohkh ehr-froyt!a tree of your kind delighted me greatly!
  5. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  6. du kannst mir sehr gefallen!doo kahnst meer zair guh-fahl-luhn!you please me very much!

Verse 3

  1. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  2. dein Kleid will mir was lehren:dain klait vil meer vahs lay-ruhn:your dress has something to teach me:
  3. Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeitdee hof-noong oont buh-shtehn-dikh-kaitHope and constancy
  4. gibt Trost und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!gipt trohst oont krahft tsoo yay-der tsait!give comfort and strength at all times!
  5. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!oh tahn-nuhn-bowm, oh tahn-nuhn-bowm!O fir tree, o fir tree!
  6. dein Kleid will mir was lehren.dain klait vil meer vahs lay-ruhn.your dress has something to teach me.

About this song

Ernst Anschütz, a Leipzig schoolmaster, wrote these words in 1824 to an older folk tune. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree, the one brought indoors at Christmas, and the song praises it for keeping its green all winter. The 1920 print spells it Tannebaum, without the n.

Where it comes from

The words: Ernst Anschütz, "O Tannebaum" (1824), printed with its Volksweise in Deutscher Liederschatz. Die schönsten Weisen der alten Sammlung Ludwig Erks, neu bearbeitet und durch hundert Lieder vermehrt (C. F. Peters, Leipzig, 1920), Edition Peters 10613, Nr. 156, S. 184.

The tune: The engraving printed over this very text: Deutscher Liederschatz (C. F. Peters, Leipzig, 1920), Edition Peters 10613, Nr. 156 "O Tannebaum", S. 184, headed "Ernst Anschütz, 1824 (nach einem Volksliede)" and marked "Mäßig", with the melody line attributed in the top right corner to "Volksweise". F major, 3/4, voice part over piano, three systems, the whole stanza written out as A, B, A with no repeat signs. The three vocal systems were cropped out of the page image and enlarged to between 350 and 900 percent, and the staff line rows and barlines of each system were measured off a greyscale dump of the scan, so every notehead is read off the engraving. Cross-checked degree for degree on all 46 notes against the score block in the Melodie section of the de.wikipedia article "O Tannenbaum" (G major, 3/4, the A strain repeated with D.C. al fine): the two agree everywhere. The only differences follow from the Liederschatz writing the song out instead of repeating it, namely a quarter note anacrusis where Wikipedia has an eighth, and the returning anacrusis filling the eighth that Wikipedia leaves as a rest before the D.C. The Liederschatz's own F major is kept; range C4 to D5

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Seven German Songs for Children

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