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"The Happy Wanderer" ("''Der fröhliche Wanderer''" or "''Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann''") is a
popular song. The original text was written by Florenz Friedrich Sigismund (1791–1877).
["Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann," on Volksliederarchiv]
(+score)
The present tune was composed by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller shortly after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The work is often mistaken for a German
folk song, but it is an original composition. Möller's sister Edith conducted a small amateur children's and youth choir in the district of
Schaumburg, in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, internationally named
Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen () is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden.
Obernkirchen is a small town in the shadows of the Bückeberg, a h ...
Children's Choir, in Germany named Schaumburger Märchensänger. She adapted Sigismund's words for her choir.
In 1953, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio broadcast of the choir's winning performance at the
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod turned the song into an instant hit. On January 22, 1954, the song entered
the UK singles chart and stayed on the chart—only a Top 12 at the time—for 26 non-consecutive weeks, peaking at Number 2 (for five consecutive weeks). The amateur choir, many of whose original members were war
orphan
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
s, turned into an international phenomenon in the following years. The group performed on many international tours under the name Obernkirchen Children's Choir and recorded several albums. They made two appearances on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
'' (November 29, 1964, and December 11, 1966).
Die Isarspatzen, Herbert Beckh und das Tanzorchester des
Bayerischer Rundfunk
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...
s
München have recorded a
German version of the song "Der fröhliche Wanderer".
Electrola
Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano.
History
On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Compan ...
released that recording in 1955 as catalog number EG 8082.
The song's German lyrics have been translated into several languages, and it has since become a choir classic. The first adaptation into another language was done by a Belgian woman, Andrée Mazy, who came up with versions in Dutch-Flemish and French.
[''Published Music: Catalog of Copyright Entries'', 3rd Series, Vol. 9, Part 5A, No 1, P. 185, EFO-32388, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, January–June 1955.] Since in Dutch folk songs "valderi-valdera" (pronounced "falderi-faldera") is more common than the German "falleri-fallera", she used the Dutch model in both versions. When
Antonia Ridge was writing the English lyrics,
she became acquainted with the French version of the song, with "valderi-valdera", pronounced with a true soft /v/ instead of the voiceless /f/, and borrowed it over into the English version mainly for euphonic reasons (less military sounding). During WWII, a more military version of the song became immensely popular with the German paratroopers. Although Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller reportedly composed "Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann" shortly after World War II,
Steven Spielberg's 1993 historical drama film, ''
Schindler's List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...
'', contains a scene in which a group is singing the tune, mixed with another German folk song, in a nightclub during that war.
Milton DeLugg wrote an arrangement and is sometimes incorrectly credited as the composer of the song. A number of English-language sources credit Edith Möller and Florenz Siegesmund with writing the words, the implication being (apparently) that they were written at the same time as the tune. However, the German sources all credit the original words to either Friedrich Sigismund, F. Sigismund,
or Florenz Friedrich Sigismund
[ and give the dates as either 1788–1857 or early 19th century. All German sources agree that the words to the popular version were adapted by Edith Möller.
The song also became the unofficial anthem of ]Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
's Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
(since relocated to become the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
).
"The Happy Wanderer" was selected as the winner of Trinidad's 1955 Road March title, awarded to the song which was most played by steelbands during that year's Carnival season.
See also
* Hänschen klein
* Heimatfilm
' (, German for "homeland-films"; German singular: ') were films of a genre popular in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. ''Heimat'' can be translated as "home" (in the geographic sense), "hometown" or "homela ...
* The Manchester Rambler
"The Manchester Rambler", also known as "I'm a Rambler" and "The Rambler's Song", is a song written by the English folk singer Ewan MacColl in 1932. It was inspired by his participation in the Kinder trespass, a protest by the urban Young Commu ...
* Wandervogel
''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with n ...
References
External links
Chart Of All Time - 1954
UK Chart History of 1954
IMDB
Movie: "Der fröhliche Wanderer"
History of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
*, by the Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen () is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden.
Obernkirchen is a small town in the shadows of the Bückeberg, a h ...
Children's Choir (1953). Video - 3:01 minutes. Published on July 7, 2010 — 118,015 views by February 7, 2019.
*, by the Frank Weir Choir (1954). Video — 2:43 minutes, with lyrics. Published on December 27, 2011 — 95,116 views by August 19, 2019.
*, by Heidis Erben (2011a). Video - 2:56 minutes. Published on Jun 5, 2011 — 41,936 views by December 26, 2019.
*, by Heidis Erben (2011b). Video - 2:39 minutes. Published on August 28, 2011 — 128,067 views by December 26, 2019.
*, from Campout at Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
. Video — 2:46 minutes, with lyrics. Published on April 5, 2011 — 74,246 views by July 20, 2019.
*, by The Ringgold Band (2013). Video — 6:20 minutes. Published on September 2, 2013 — 7,475 views by July 20, 2019.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Wanderer, The
1953 songs
Parlophone singles
Carnival songs
Montreal Expos
Max Bygraves songs