Hänschen klein
Encyclopedia
"Hänschen klein" is a traditional German folk song and children's song
originating in the Biedermeier
period of the 19th century. The title translates to English as "Little Hans".
Originally it told of a juvenile who ventures to the world and returns as a man to his family. It gained much more popularity around 1900, when the following abridged textual version came to be adopted as the very first song to be taught to small children, whether at home or in kindergarten. Now it is about a small boy, who is going away but returns immediately to hearth and home, since his mother, left alone, began crying.
The tune of this song is also used in the simple Mother Goose
rhyme of "Lightly Row." It is the theme song of the 1977 war film Cross of Iron
. In the German dubbed version of 2001: A Space Odyssey
the HAL 9000
computer sings Hänschen klein (instead of Daisy Bell
) while deactivated.
The song must be sung in German in order for the words to rhyme (a-a-b-b-c-c-d-d). Bulgarian version also goes well with the rhyme.
, wrote a Hebrew
version of "Hänschen klein". The Song (in Hebrew: "Yonatan HaKatan") is the most widespread nursery rhyme in Israel
.
However, the meaning of the original German text was completely altered. The Hebrew version reads:
Children's song
Children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that young children invent and share among themselves, or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home, or education...
originating in the Biedermeier
Biedermeier
In Central Europe, the Biedermeier era refers to the middle-class sensibilities of the historical period between 1815, the year of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions...
period of the 19th century. The title translates to English as "Little Hans".
Originally it told of a juvenile who ventures to the world and returns as a man to his family. It gained much more popularity around 1900, when the following abridged textual version came to be adopted as the very first song to be taught to small children, whether at home or in kindergarten. Now it is about a small boy, who is going away but returns immediately to hearth and home, since his mother, left alone, began crying.
The tune of this song is also used in the simple Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
rhyme of "Lightly Row." It is the theme song of the 1977 war film Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron is a 1977 war film directed by Sam Peckinpah, featuring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. The film is set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviet's Caucasus operations that forced the Wehrmacht to retreat from the Taman Peninsula on the...
. In the German dubbed version of 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
the HAL 9000
HAL 9000
HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...
computer sings Hänschen klein (instead of Daisy Bell
Daisy Bell
"Daisy Bell" is a popular song with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy/Give me your answer do/I'm half crazy/all for the love of you" as well as the line "...a bicycle built for two".-History:"Daisy Bell" was composed by Harry Dacre in 1892...
) while deactivated.
Translation
| German | English | Bulgarian |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
The song must be sung in German in order for the words to rhyme (a-a-b-b-c-c-d-d). Bulgarian version also goes well with the rhyme.
In Hebrew
In the first half of the twentieth century in pre-independent Israel (then the British Mandate of Palestine), the author Yisrael Duschmann, born in VilnaVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, wrote a Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
version of "Hänschen klein". The Song (in Hebrew: "Yonatan HaKatan") is the most widespread nursery rhyme in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
However, the meaning of the original German text was completely altered. The Hebrew version reads:
- Little Jonathan
- Ran in the morning to kindergarten. (Or garden, double meaning)
- He climbed the tree
- Looking for chicks.
- Oh dear, that naughty boy
- Got a big hole in his pants.
- He climbed the tree.
- Looking for chicks.
External links
- Lyrics to "Hänschen klein" (in German).
- Melodie+Text *.mid
- We Butter The Bread With Butter (A German grindcore band whose debut album features a song titled "Hänschen Klein")