Eugene Field
Eugene Field (born September 2, 1850 in St. Louis , Missouri , † November 4, 1895 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American journalist and poet , who was best known for his volume of poetry A Little Book of Western Verse .
Life
After attending school, Field, son of the lawyer Roswell M. Field, first began studying at the University of Missouri , which he had to leave without a degree, as did Knox College , where he studied between 1869 and 1871. He then worked as a journalist for numerous daily newspapers and also wrote the "Odds and Ends" column for the Denver Tribune newspaper . In 1875 he married Julia Comstock with whom he had eight children. In 1889 he became a columnist for The Chicago Daily News , where he wrote the column "Sharps & Flats" until his death.
Field, who published a collection of his columns for the Denver Tribune under the title The Tribune Primer as early as 1882 , made his debut as a poet in 1889 with the volumes of poetry A Little Book of Profitable Tales and his main work A Little Book of Western Verse , which first appeared in Chicago and then appeared in New York City in 1890 . He also wrote another volume of poetry in 1892 with the title A Second Book of Verse .
The writer and poet
Field's place in American literature is based in particular on his poems about Christmas in the volume With Trumpet and Drum (1892) and childhood in the volume Love Songs of Childhood (1894), of which "Little Boy Blue" and "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod “are the best known. His poems often combine feelings with a flowing lyrical form. The Love affairs of a bibliomaniac was published posthumously in 1899 .
His poem about the Mines Hotel in Gold Hill (Colorado) and Billy Vaughn's song version of "Little Boy Blue" from 1956 became more famous .
Particularly noteworthy, however, is the poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod , which was also used musically by many artists. This poem gained additional international fame in 1993 through the film Dennis , as the actress Joan Plowright in the role of Martha Wilson reads this poem to five-year-old Dennis to sleep.
Musical exploitation of the poem
Quite a large number of artists have made musical use of the poem in very different variations over the past decades: Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin , an American pianist and composer wrote a musical version recorded at The Big 3 other artists were Cass Elliot (1963), so like the Simon Sisters (1964), the Ivy League Trio (1964), The Irish Rovers on their 1969 album The Life of the Rover , Donovan on his children's album HMS Donovan (1971), Roger Whittaker on his album for Children's The Magical World of Roger Whittaker from 1975.
In 1975 Buffy Saint-Marie sang a version for the American version of the children's TV program Sesame Street , also known in Germany , which also appeared on her album Sweet America from 1976, and Fred Penner on his children's album The Cat Came Back from the 1979, like The Doobie Brothers (1981). Kevin Roth used it on his album Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep . The composer Christopher Klaich composed a modern lullaby for the soprano Bianca Showalter, in which the singer was accompanied by a piano or a chamber orchestra, depending on the performance. Composer Stephen DeCesare composed an SATB version of the popular poem.
Text: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe -
Sailed on a river of crystal light, into
a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea -
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish -
Never afraid are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam -
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail
it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought' twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea -
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed .
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
translation
Wink, Blinzel and Nick
Winker, Blinzel and Nick sail away
Through the night in a wooden shoe
Over a river of shimmering light
And far out to sea
"Where to go? And what is your desire?"
Asked the old moon
"We want to catch the wonderful fish that
lives on the ocean
floor
With nets of pearls and silver and gold,"
said Wink, Blink and Nick
Wink and Blink are little eyes
and Nick is a little head, very tired,
and the wooden shoe that is over goes to heaven
Is a crib as yours, my love
now closing 'your eyes and sleep fine
and mother sing you a song
and you sail away to the enchanted sea,
the faint weighs you into dreamland
, where waiting for you in the wooden shoe
wink, Blink and Nick
Honors
Eugen Field did not receive any honors for his work during his lifetime. After his death, his childhood home in St. Louis became a museum. The Eugende Field House contains the writer's and poet's collections, as well as the city's toy museum. In addition, Field was immortalized on September 2, 1950 for his work "A Little Book of Western" on the St. Louis Walk of Fame . In addition, numerous elementary schools across the United States are named after him.
Web links
- Literature by and about Eugene Field in the catalog of the German National Library
- Eugene Field in the nndb (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eugene Field in the Notable Names Database (English)
- ↑ Donovan recorded it in 2002 for his children's album Pied Piper .
- ↑ This album was only available as LP and was only sold in Canada .
- ↑ Kevin Roth: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep on Allmusic (English)
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Homepage of the Eugene Field House
- ↑ http://www.nndb.com/honors/702/000165207/
- ↑ http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYX7_Eugene_Field_School_St_Louis_Missouri_USA ;
- ↑ http://www.eugenefield.org/m/album/index.jsp#
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Field, Eugene |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American journalist and poet |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 2, 1850 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 4, 1895 |
| Place of death | Chicago , Illinois |