Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit

Subject: Oktoberfest Songs
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 01:31 AM

An older thread (1999) mentions
"A common German toast: 'Prosit,' abbreviated to 'Pros't,' which I think just means 'toast.' A common singing toast is 'Ein prosit, ein prosit der Gemutlichkeit.' (sp?) -- A toast, a toast to good health.'"

Somewhere I have a record of the music for this tune, but I don't have the words. Does someone know them?

It's Oktoberfest time and I need to supplement my repertoire of polkas and/or German songs or beer-garden type songs.

What I have now is:
Polkas:
Hoop-de-doo
Beer Barrel Polka
Pennsylvania Polka
Funiculi, Funicula
Vive L'Amour
Muss I Denn?
Shall We Dance?
New York Girls

German (Or German-title) songs:
Wunderbar
Die Lorelei
Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen

Lili Marlene

Die Gedanken Sind Frei
Wilkommen (from "Cabaret")

The Happy Wanderer ( in English and German)
Edelweiss


There was a novelty song in the '50's called "Dance Me Loose" ("Saturday night in Sheboygan ..."). This would be good for Oktoberfest, too, and I wonder if someone has those lyrics.

Most of these songs are not really folk songs. I would love to add more German folk songs or folk song polkas, if people can suggest others.

---

See also: German Folk Music

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 10:11 AM

Genie, "Prosit" isn't there, but go check out Volkslieder. This is just the "A" page. See the alphabet at the top of the page.......a multitude of riches.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 10:20 AM

And Prosit is here.

Subject: ADD: Ein Prosit
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 03:07 PM

Thanks, Sorcha.
I'll post it here, 'cause links disappear.

----------------------------------------
Song picked up by personnel lucky enogh to have a tour of duty in Germany - either with 444 Squadron in Lahr or 1 Canadian Air Group in Baden-Soligen.

Tune: Ein Prosit (Duh!)

[Upon hearing the first strains of the song, stand and place one foot on your chair, your neighbor, or whatever else is handy.]

Ein prosit, ein prosit, der gemutlichkeit...
[Hoist beer (or drink of your choice) up high.]

Ein prosit, ein prosit, der gemutlichkeit...
[Repeat above]

Eins, Zwei, Drei, G'suffa..
[Upon each count, lower and then raise your beer. At "G'suffa" raise once more and drink!]

[this next part is optional...zicke = "tsickeh" (as in 'eh', not 'ay'), zacka = "tsackah"]

Zicke, zacka, zicke, zacka...hoy, hoy, hoy,
Zicke, zacka, zicke, zacka...hoy, hoy, hoy...

[as an option yell "chimo!" here to end it OR do the extended dance-mix version which continues as follows]

Zicke,Zicke,Zicke (pause) zacka,zacka,zacka,
Zicke (pause) Zicke (pause) zacka (pause) zacka,
Zicke, zacka, zicke, zacka...hoy, hoy, hoy...chimo! Prosit!

[Whew! Confused? Hell, so are we!]
-----------------

Well, it sounds like after singing the song thru a couple of times, everyone' so soused they won't notice if you do it wrong.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 07:52 PM

Genie, the above is not a song but a collection of - well, not even toasts but (pretty awful, imho!) drinking shouts. Also, 'Gemuetlichkeit' has nothing to do with health - it means cosiness - the feeling you get sitting safely amid a group of like-minded people in a congenial environment, whether it's the pub or your own front room.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Sep 01 - 08:42 PM

Hell, it's not Genies' fault---I found the lyrics and sent her to them.........do you have a better idea for The Lyrics?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 30 Sep 01 - 01:18 AM

Yeah, Suzanne, I know "Gesundheit" is health. But I do have an instrumental version of "Ein Prosit!"complete with oompah band, and I guess any number of word lines could fit with the music, but I think they do start with singing "Ein Prosit! Ein prosit!"

Genie

Subject: ADD: German Drinking Songs
From: Jeanie
Date: 02 Oct 01 - 05:14 PM

The song (and it IS a song) "Ein Prosit" just consists of the line: "Ein Prosit, ein Prosit der Gemuetlichkeit" sung as many times as you wish or are able, depending on how many litres have been consumed.

The "eins, zwei, g'suffa" mentioned in your post of 29th Sept. is ALSO part of a song:

In Muenchen steht ein Hofbraeuhaus
Eins, zwei, g'suffa,
Da laeuft so manches Faesschen aus,
Eins, zwei, g'suffa,
Da hat so mancher braver Mann,
Eins, zwei, g'suffa,
Gezeigt, was er so vertragen kann,
So frueh am Morgen fing er an,
Und spaet am Abend kam er heraus,
So schoen ist's im Hofbraeuhaus, Haus, Haus !!

**************
Here's another one:

Trink, trink, Bruederlein, trink,
Lass doch die Sorgen zu Haus (x2)
Meide den Kummer und meide den Schmerz,
Dann ist das Leben ein Scherz ! (x 2)

************
And:
Du kannst nicht treu sein,
Nein, nein, das kannst du nicht,
Wenn auch dein Mund mir wahre Liebe verspricht.
In Deinem Herzen hast Du fuer viele Platz,
Darum bist Du auch nicht fuer mich der richt'ge Schatz !

***********
And, now you know what it means, I'll wish you "Viel Spass" once again !
- Jeanie

Line Breaks <br> added.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 01 - 05:30 PM

I suppose it's fair to say that these "German Drinking Songs" are far more popular in the U.S. than they ever were in Germany. I suppose the same goes for many so-called "Irish" songs. Still, they're fun - and they beat the heck out of the music that is popular in Germany and Ireland today. When I was in the West of Ireland 6 weeks ago, most of the music I heard was a very sappy imitation of U.S. Country music. In Dublin and in Germany, you get electronic Europop. I don't think I even want to talk about what's popular in the U.S. right now.

By the way, "prosit" is Latin - it means "May it be good for you."

Was it as good for you as it was for me???

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Jeanie
Date: 02 Oct 01 - 06:22 PM

Thanks for adding the line breaks, Joe - I didn't know how to do that. These songs are also popular in Britain, at "Bierkeller"-type events. For all kinds of reasons, which have already been discussed here on other threads, songs like this aren't so popular in Germany - BUT, I agree, they're FUN. Are there "English Pubs" in the USA where they sing "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner", "Boiled Beef and Carrots" , "Lambeth Walk" with people serving behind the bar dressed as pearly kings and queens ? I expect so ! Nothing like an English pub in 2001 - much more entertaining.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 02 Oct 01 - 08:50 PM

I wouldn't say the above songs are not popular in Germany. Rather, they all have their time and place. 'Mein Vater war...', 'Lorelei', 'Du Du liegst mir im Herzen' and 'Die Gedanken sind frei' are probably not sung very often any more (though I will sometimes sing the latter to myself) and seem outdated to many people. Of the ones Jeanie mentions, 'In Muenchen steht...' is particular to Bavaria and only sung elsewhere once alcohol levels have risen sufficiently. You don't hear 'Ein Prosit' very often nowadays (thanks, Jeanie, for reassuring me - I thought there was only the one line, but then I might have missed something over the last 4o years ...). The last two are, like many others (e.g. 'Es war einmal ein treuer Husar' and 'So ein Tag so wunderschoen wie heute' - probably the most famous of them all), products of the Rhineland 'Karneval' celebrations, and as synthetic as most of the 'volkstuemliche Musik' discussed in another thread recently. They may be played but hardly ever sung outside Karneval as the lyrics evoke a faux 'Gemuetlichkeit' that doesn't normally fit elsewhere.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Genie
Date: 03 Oct 01 - 02:43 AM

Thanks, Jeanie and Susanne.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Oct 01 - 05:38 AM

I've tried not to post but the temptation was too strong.
Once in Westport, Co. Mayo, in Matt Molloy's pub, a great group of five Irish musicians played a succession of the best jigs, reels and polkas you can wish for. Then a German tourist came over with his guitar, sat beside them and started to sing a three chord 'Molly Malone' at the next break. Matt Molloy looked kind of tormented and at the next opportunity said thanks and started a quick tune.

His look was like I picture Susanne when German drinking songs are praised or sung. Well, my reaction is very similar though there are times when I too sing these songs (either when I'm drunk enough or when Germany has won the football world championship; the first happens more often; and the second usually goes hand in hand with the first). For a collection (first half of alphabet) click here.

As Susanne says, these songs have their place, and they are popular and in one sense, they are contemporary folksongs. Take one of the better old German folksongs and about 15 % of the population will say they know the song and less than 10% will be able to sing the first line. Take 'Auf der Reeperbahn...' or 'So ein Tag so wunderschoen...' and close to 100% will be able to sing the first line. If folksongs are defined as songs the people actually sing these songs are the real German folksongs of today.

But a collection of German songs only consisting of those songs would be as impoverished as a collection of 'Irish folksongs' consisting of 'Wild Rover', 'Whiskey in the jar' and 'In Dublin's fair´City'. I once bought a 'Guinness book of Irish ballads, it had a collection of just those songs, perhaps the Irish equivalent to the German songs in the link above.

A tiny correction or rather addition to Susanne: 'So ein Tag so wunderschoen wie heute' is in one sense not a product of the Rhineland Carneval. The song is older and original a serious song. But it was not well known until 'Die Mainzer Hofsänger' made some very minor changes in the lyrics (only replacing very few words: for instance, 'schau die bunten Sterne am Abendhimmel steh'n' became 'schau die bunten Sterne am Narrenhimmel steh'n') and sang it as the encore song of their show. And then with the help of TV it took off like a rocket and has been their last song since more than 40 years now.

And I admit I have a weak spot for it. Though I never would listen to it or similar songs on a CD, a crowd of 50,000 singing 'So ein Tag...' after let's say a victory in football against England is an awesome moment.

The last time I listened to a whole CD of such songs without open protest was in a German pub near Kitchener, Ontario. But then everything was wrong there. The waitresses had wrong blonde hair and had a Bavarian Dirndl-dress which is hilarious for our Bavarian waitresses have nearly exclusively black hair. But who cares about that in Kitchener.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Jeanie
Date: 04 Oct 01 - 10:25 AM

Similarly, Wolfgang, the "English Pub" in Freiburg in SW Germany, when I lived there, served "English fish and chips" : thin, American fries in a (German-style) cardboard cone. Their idea of serving them wrapped in newspaper was that the cone had lettering on it in newsprint. In other words, nothing like the real thing, but very, very German. But who cares ? Fake "national" pubs have a style and a charm all of their own, all over the world. I don't think anyone imagines them to be authentic, just a bit of fun.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Ferrara
Date: 04 Oct 01 - 11:18 PM

I went to Oktoberfest in Munich in about 1968, had a fine time and have been nostalgic for the silly songs we sang, ever since.

So, I looked up one of my favorites on Wolfgang's site. Mind you, this is a really tacky drinking song, about as classy as "Poor Lil" or "The Lady in Red" in the U.S.... I have no shame, I'll sing anything if it's fun.

Anyway -- good heavenly days, whoever typed the damn thing in had no idea whatsoever of the words, but seems to have done the whole thing "by ear" with no comprehension of the Bavarian dialect -- amazing. So I'm going to post the version from the site, followed by what I always thought the words were.... my German is barely passable but I think someone slowed this one down for me so I could learn it and I've never forgotten it.... So, for fun:

[The Web Site's Version:]GEHN MER MOL NÛBER ?[sic]

Gehn mer mol nüber, gehn mer mol nüber,
gehn mer mol nüber zum Schmitt seiner Fraa !
Gehn mer mol nüber, gehn mer mol nüber,
gehn mer mol nüber zum Schmitt.

Der Schmitt der hat zwei Töchterlein,
die möchten so gerne geheiratet sein.
Gehn mer mol nüber, gehn mer mol nüber,
gehn mer mol nüber zum Schmitt.

[The real thing, I think, such as it is, with my primitive translation:]

GEH'N WIR 'MAL 'RUBER
[Gehen Wir Noch Einmal Darueber, roughly, "Let's all go over there again..."]

Geh'n wir 'mal 'ruber,
Geh'n wir 'mal 'ruber,
Geh'n wir 'mal 'ruber zum Scmitt, seine Frau
[Let's go over to see Schmitt and his wife]

Denn Schmitt, er hat zwei Tochterlein'
Die mochten sehr gern verheiraten sein

[For Schmitt, he has two daughters
Who would very much like to be married]

Geh'n wir 'mal 'ruber,
geh'n wir mal ruber,
geh'n wir mal ruber zum Schmitt.

Sorry - no umlauts

Anyway, if anybody wants to correct MY mistakes go right ahead. I still sing the song sometimes just for fun.

Also the first line or two of "So Ein Tag," etc., which is all I ever learned. Stuck with me and I like it (blush).

Also "These Are My Mountains," which was an equally sappy song I learned in Scotland. No taste at all.... musically anyhoo....

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Ein Prosit
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Oct 01 - 04:36 AM

Ferrara,

A minor correction and a necessary addendum to 'Geh'n wir mal rüber':

- the translation of the first verse is 'let's go over to see Schmitt's wife'. This difference becomes vital when considering my addendum:

- maybe I'm alone in this and it is just my bad phantasy but probably not. The line 'geh'n wir mal rüber' has of course the meaning 'let's go over to...' but it can also be heard as 'let's lay/screw...'. And then the whole song becomes a new twist: The solo singer sings the verses and then a chorus roars
'geh'n wir mal rüber' (let's go over/let's screw)
'geh'n wir mal rüber' (let's go over/let's screw)
zum Schmitt (to Schmitt; and only now it becomes clear that 'let's go over...' is the intended official meaning).

The first verse ends with the words 'Schmitt's wife' and then a loud chorus grinningly chants 'geh'n wir mal.../let's screw her' (twice) which only gets a decent meaning with the last words 'zum Schmitt'. And everybody can pretend that that was meant all along. Same and even better for the next verse that describes that he has two daughters that want to be married. And then a loud chorus chants twice the ambiguous line 'geh'n wir mal rüber'. Hilarious for German men especially if there are women present who may not hear the double meaning.

Wolfgang