Prussia,  Thoughts

Hinaus in die Ferne

It probably bears mention that my grandmother- Frieda Senger- was a woman of many verses.  So given that my most recent visits with my mother have involved hearing a particular verse frequently; I thought I’d preserve it for posterity, especially since it is a verse I never heard while growing up.  It’s a lively little item…

Hinaus in die Ferne
Mit Butterbrot und Speck.
Das mag ich ja so gerne,
Das nimmt mir keiner weg.
Und wer das tut,
Dem hau’ ich auf die Nase,
Dem hau’ ich auf die Schnut’,
Daß es [ihm] blut’.

It turns out to be a music composition with lyrics and so it has an associated tune (a rather lively early 1800’s tune).  The verse & music was written by Albert Methfessel, 1813 (he lived between the years 1786-1869.)  Here is the tune for Hinaus in die Ferne.  A rough translation of the the verse into English follows:

Heading out for a journey
With buttered bread and bacon.
I like that so much,
None can take those from me.
And if someone tries,
I’ll smack them on the nose,
I’ll smack them on the snout,
Until they bleed.

I find it a curious set of lyrics. So, I looked it up and actually found numerous additional verses and versions.  The composition is called the Turnermarsch (Turner March).  The original score along with the most common variations may be found on the web:  here it is.  It seems that the work was created in reaction to Napoleon’s occupation of German lands.  A fairly robust little history (in German) may be found on Wikipedia.de.

Ah, just another happy time… and another happy song!

ManyRoads Creator, Professional Genealogist, Family Historian, ManyRoads Podcast co-host, Old Guy and most importantly 'opa'