Do I have to, do I have to go to the city center

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Paper cut on old postcard

Must i then, must i then go to the Städtele is a German folk song adapted by Friedrich Silcher and published for the first time in 1827 , which was distributed worldwide as a million-seller thanks to two English-language adaptations under the title Wooden Heart by Elvis Presley in 1960 and Joe Dowell in 1961 and thus became one of the most internationally known German folk tunes.

History of origin

Friedrich Silcher's submission to Must i because, must i because out to the Städtele has not survived. Silcher has at least adopted the melody, because he mentioned it to Ludwig Uhland as an “old Württemberg melody”, and the Remstal is often referred to as the place of origin. The text originally sung for this melody has not survived. In any case, Silcher resorted to this traditional melody and integrated two stanzas, which his friend Heinrich Wagner (1783–1863) , who was a friend of the Stuttgart occasional poet , had newly written in 1824, as the second and third stanzas. In Friedrich Silcher's second volume of "Volkslieder, collected and set for four male voices" (opus 8 no. 12) the song first appeared in this form in 1827 on page 16. Wagner published the lyrics in Swabian dialect with the anonymous opening verse in 1833 in the fourth volume of his collection “Stech-Palmen. Satyrical and lyric from South Germany ”on page 154.

The content of the song, titled “Farewell” by Silcher and “The Wandering Lover” by Wagner, is the parting words of a young man who has to leave his lover. He promises her loyalty and to marry her when he returns "over the year". Even before the middle of the 19th century, the song was included in a number of books of useful songs. In 1892 August Holder described Muss i then ... as “the best, most effective and most popular folk song of the Swabian tribe. On the wings of song it has long since spread across the globe ”. How early the international reception began is shown by the English translation Must I, then? Must I, then? From the town must I, then? by Henry William Dulcken from 1856.

Adaptations

As a soldier's song and farewell song, and later also as a traveling song, the folk song was widely used and was received beyond Germany as early as the 19th century.

The various recordings by the Comedian Harmonists are historically significant because they are considered the first recordings of the folk tune. On January 9, 1933, the first version of the song was written, which was released that same month by Electrola (EG # 2724). On November 26, 1936 (already as a "master sextet") they recorded another version as the last of four folk songs under the title Potpourri Part 1 (Electrola EG # 3954). On May 12, 1938, the title was finally recorded again on its own and published as EG # 6684.

Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart (German pressing)

The American singer and musician Elvis Presley became aware of "Muss i denn .." during his army service in Germany. The entire Elvis film GI Blues , made after his military service, is a reminiscence of his army days in Germany. The first musical homage was the song Frankfurt Special , recorded on April 27, 1960. The following day he sings Wooden under his house producer Steve Sholes Heart with English text and some German-language passages, accompanied by tuba and organ. Fred Wise and Ben Weisman are registered as composers for this revision, and Kay Twomey and Bert Kaempfert are registered as authors of the English-language text , because the original composition was no longer subject to copyright protection as a traditional or public domain .

Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart (British pressing)

Teldec took over the song for the European market under license as a distribution partner of RCA Records and released it as the single Muss i denn ... / Tonight's All Right For Love . In Germany the title was sold over 400,000 times, in England more than 500,000 copies went over the counter. In the USA they waited with the publication until November 1964 as the B-side to the single Blue Christmas , which was only ranked 102nd. A 1961 cover version by Joe Dowell sold over a million copies. The American songwriter Kal Mann (1917-2001) wrote a subtext with the title Twist mit mir . It was recorded by Chubby Checker in 1962 and released on the LP Twistin 'Round the World (Parkway P-7008). Altogether there are at least 42 cover versions of Muss i denn ... or Wooden Heart .

In 1962 Vico Torriani sang the song in the hit film Muß i denn zum Städtele . Many German pop singers played Muss i then , including Heino (1971), Karel Gott (1976) and Vicky Leandros (1977). On the other hand, the song was included in the program in Germany by the folk duo Zupfgeigenhansel, among others , and appeared in 1983 on the LP No beautiful land . By Hannes Wader one version on the album Wader sings folk songs in 1990.

The popular song is sung today primarily when saying goodbye to home and the bride, but also to all other types of goodbyes when traveling and hiking. In addition, it is played in the German Navy when a ship of the Navy is retired for a longer assignment abroad. It was played for the same purpose during World War II. This is expressed in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 war drama Das Boot . A military band plays the tune of the song there as the submarine leaves the port of La Rochelle .

text

Do I have to, do I have
to go out to the township, township out,
And you, my darling, stay here?
When i come, when i come,
when i come again, come again
, my dear, come to your place.
Can I be with you at all times,
but I am happy in you!
When i come, when i come,
when i come again, come again
, my dear, come to your place.

How you cry, how you cry,
That I have to wander, have to wander,
As if d 'love were over now!
Are au outside, au outside
The girls are a lot, girls are a lot,
dear darling, i stay true to you.
Don't you think if I see Andre,
No, my love is over;
Are au outside, au outside
The girls are a lot, girls are a lot,
dear darling, i stay true to you.

Over the year, over the year,
If me Träubele cuts, Träubele cuts, I put me
here again;
If i am then, am i
still your darling, darling still,
this is how the wedding should be.
Over the year, my time is over,
I belong to mine and yours;
If i am then, am i
still your darling, darling still,
this is how the wedding should be.

melody

\ new Staff << \ new Voice \ relative c '{\ autoBeamOff \ language "deutsch" \ tempo 4 = 120 \ set Score.tempoHideNote = ## t \ key es \ major \ time 4/4 \ partial 4 \ slurDashed \ repeat unfold 2 {es8 f g4 g8 b as4 as8 (c) b4 b8 as g4 (g) b4 b8 as g8 (g) g (b) as4 as fb g2 r4} \ repeat volta 2 {es8 g f4. g8 as4 f g4. as8 b4 b8 (b) c4 c es d8 (c) b2 r4 es, 8 g b4 b8 c b4 b8 (es) b4 b8 as g2 b4 b8 as g4 g8 b as4 as fb g2 r4}} \ addlyrics {I have to , then I have to go to cities - go-out, cities - go-out, and you, my darling, stay here. \ set ignoreMelismata = ## t When i come, when i come, when i like - the - to come, _ like - the - to come, _ come to my place, my darling. Can I be the same - because being with you, I still have my joy in you. When i come, when i come, when i like - the - to come, like - the - to come, I'll come back to you, my darling. } >>

Trivia

" Oberwölz closes": At the end of a two-day period of closed city walls during a city festival, the gates were reopened in June 2012 while the song was played.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ August Bopp, Friedrich Silcher , 1916
  2. ↑ Tobias Widmaier: Must i then, must i then go to the town hall: Edition A (Friedrich Silcher 1827) (2010). In: Popular and Traditional Songs. Historical-critical song lexicon of the German Folk Song Archive
  3. ↑ Ben Weisman (born November 16, 1921 in Providence / Rhode Island, † May 20, 2007 in Los Angeles / California) wrote the most songs for Elvis compared to other composers with 57 titles
  4. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records . 1985, p. 145 f.
  5. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records . 1985, p. 152
  6. ↑ Chubby Checker
  7. ↑ a b Common text variant: come again, come again, come again again .
  8. ↑ Oberwölz closes - Regional12 project on the weekend in Oberwölz mein district.at, June 26, 2012, accessed January 16, 2017.