Old Classics

When we were young, my mom used to sing my siblings and I songs that she remembered from her German class. Today, with the inventions of Youtube and iTunes, I tracked down a bunch of them with her.

Du, Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen: a German drinking song; I only remembered part of the refrain "Ja, ja, ja, ja!". The Youtube options weren't so great, but Useless Knowledge.com provides lyrics, melody, and sheet music. See the iTunes store for some full versions.

Muss i'Denn zum Städtele Hinaus: a German folksong, which was adapted by Elvis Presley to become "Wooden Heart" (though I believe he modified the meaning of the song a bit). Lyrics and translation here and youtube has a few decent versions, such as a recording by the Von Trapp Family Singers.

Sag' Mir, Wo Die Blumen Sind: ("Where have all the Flowers Gone?") This was a nice find; it's one of my mom's favorites. It was translated into Deutsch and first performed by Marlene Dietrich, as seen below. Later recordings included Joan Baez, who worked with Peter, Paul, and Mary on the English version.


Schnitzelbank: a rather silly song, in which any two rhyming objects can be inserted into a verse (the Animaniacs demonstrate this while singing the so-called "international friendship song"). A user on YouTube has also created an amusing video in which the Deutsche metal band Rammstein performs the song. As is the nature of the song, it changes with every singing, so thus there's not many recordings; however, I'm told that there are entrepreneurs in Germany who work as professional rhymers and Schnitzelbank writers. ^_^