Drinking song
(Poet's title: Skolie)
Set by Schubert:
D 507
[December 1816]
Mädchen entsiegelten,
Brüder, die Flaschen;
Auf, die geflügelten
Freuden zu haschen,
Locken und Becher von Rosen umglüht.
Auf! eh die moosigen
Hügel uns winken,
Wonne von rosigen
Lippen zu trinken;
Huldigung allem, was jugendlich blüht!
The girls have uncorked
The bottles, brothers!
Up! the winged
Joys need to be captured,
Locks of hair and beakers are glowing with roses all around.
Up! before the mossy
Hills summon us,
Take delight in pink
Lips, drink in the delight;
Pay hommage to everything that is blooming with youth!
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Themes and images in this text:
Cups and goblets Drinking Drinking songs Flowers Graves and burials Hair Hills and mountains Joy Lips Moss Roses and pink Wine and vines Wings Youth
In ancient Greece a Skolion was a drinking song in which the cup or beaker was passed around. Matthisson’s German version draws on the idea of ‘Wein, Weib und Gesang’ (the combined pleasure of wine, women and song) to create a series of double entendres that are probably only funny after quite a few glasses.
The girls have taken the stoppers out of the bottles (lit. they have unsealed the bottles)!
Up! (What might be going up, apart from the glass going up to the mouth or the bottom of the glass being turned up as the wine is quaffed?)
The ‘bottles’ are closely connected with hair, and the receptacles are glowing, hot and pink!
Since the grave is about to call us we need to take delight in ‘pink lips’!
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Get plucking. Up!
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Original Spelling Skolie Mädchen entsiegelten, Brüder! die Flaschen; Auf! die geflügelten Freuden zu haschen, Locken und Becher von Rosen umglüht. Auf! eh die moosigen Hügel uns winken, Wonne von rosigen Lippen zu trinken; Huldigung Allem, was jugendlich blüht!
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Gedichte von Friedrich von Matthisson. Erster Theil. Tübingen, bei Cotta, 1811, page 150; with Gedichte von Friedrich Matthisson. Dritte vermehrte Auflage. Zürich, 1794 bey Orell, Gessner, Füssli & Comp., page 114; and with Musen-Almanach für 1794, herausgegeben von Joh. Heinr. Voß, Hamburg, bey C.E.Bohn, page 116.
First published 1792 in a different version with the title Trinklied
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 150 [172 von 380] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ185186703