"Muss i denn" (German for "must I, then") is a German folk-style song in the

Swabian German Swabian (german: Schwäbisch ) is one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia, which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg (including its capi ...

dialect that has passed into tradition. The present form dates back to 1827, when it was written and made public by Friedrich Silcher.August Bopp, ''Friedrich Silcher'', 1916 The melody and some verses of this song became widely known through

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's adaptation "

Wooden Heart "Wooden Heart" is a pop song recorded by Elvis Presley. The composition is based on a German folk song " Muss i denn" (''lit.'' Must I then) and it was featured in the 1960 Elvis Presley film ''G.I. Blues''. The song was a hit single for Presl ...

" in 1960, as well as

Joe Dowell Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016) was an American pop singer. Career He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, and moved to Bloomington, Illinois as a child. He first performed at a ninth-grade talent show and later att ...

's version in 1961, becoming one of the most widely known German songs ever."Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städtele naus"
by Tobias Widmaier (2010)] in: ''Populäre und traditionelle Lieder. Historisch-kritisches Liederlexikon des Deutschen Volksliedarchivs''

History

"Muss i denn" is about a man – originally a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

embarking to his traditional "Wanderjahr" journey – who has to leave the woman he loves and vows to remain faithful until he is back to marry her. It first appeared on page sixteen of Friedrich Silcher's collection of popular songs, ''Volkslieder, gesammelt und für vier Männerstimmen gesetzt'', Opus 8, Nr. 12 (folk songs, collected and set for four male voices). The origin of the song, however, is obscure and the original text was not recorded. Silcher mentioned to

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist and literary historian. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in ...

that the melody was "an old melody from

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

". The song became famous beginning in the mid-19th century. It soon was especially well-liked among the German military as well as among

excursion An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportation ...

groups and thus was early on considered a patriotic song. It also became popular among German merchant seamen as a capstan shanty, and has been played as a naval quick march since the days of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

. An early English translation titled "Must I, then? Must I, then? From the town must I, then?" was made by Henry William Dulcken in 1856. Some "Muss i denn" versions were widely popularized in the 20th century; those interpreted by

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

actress

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and by French singer

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...

and Greek singer

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Germ ...

deserve mention. The latter also sings English words (though not a translation) to the tune, under the title "There's a Time".

Lyrics

Melody

The melody as given in Silcher's publication is as follows: \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c' \addlyrics >>

Bibliography

*Tobias Widmaier: "Von Silcher zu Elvis. Metamorphosen eines schwäbischen 'Volksliedes'". In: ''Vom Minnesang zur Popakademie. Musikkultur in Baden-Württemberg. Katalog zur Großen Landesaustellung Baden-Württemberg 2010'', edited by the Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe 2010, pp. 347–50. *August Holder: "'Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städtele naus'. Ein schwäbischer Beitrag zur Naturgeschichte der Volksliederdichtung". In: ''Alemannia'' 19 (1892), pp. 144–148.

References

External links

"Muss i denn"
ingeb.org {{authority control Volkslied German patriotic songs Swabia 1827 songs Songs about parting