22 Dec 15 - 08:48 PM (#3760381) Subject: Lyr Req: Jan Hinnert From: Joe Offer So, I got a call from Robert Rodriquez today. He was in a hurry, so I had a hard time transcribing what he was asking about. Anyhow, he thinks the song is titled "Jan Hinnert," or maybe "Jan Hinert." The melody he sang sounds vaguely familiar. The first words, Jan Hinnert lived," have the first notes of "Krambambuli," but then the tune goes in a different direction. So, the song starts:
And he worked just like an elf. Jan Hinnert made a little violin, a little fiddle kin, And he named his wife Katrin. And then Robert sang off some other verses too quickly for me to transcribe, and I got lost. Bob Coltman makes mention of "Jan Hinnert" in this message. He says Dyer-Bennett recorded it on German Folk Songs of Beethoven. Anybody familiar with this song? I went to the Folkways Website to see if they have it on their Dyer-Bennett recordings, but it's not there. Next, I'm off to read the indexes of books on my German songbook shelf. -Joe- |
22 Dec 15 - 09:14 PM (#3760386) Subject: ADD: Jan Hinnerk (from Dyer-Bennett) From: Joe Offer Ah, it's "Jan Hinnerk." It's on Richard Dyer-Bennet #2. Anybody know different versions, or have the German lyrics? 8. Jan Hinnerk We used to sing this when I was in school in Germany in 1930. We sang it in a Low German dialect, and I have had to take some liberties to capture the same mood in an English translation. I have omitted a verse about Napoleon, which suggests around 1800 as the time of origin. JAN HINNERK Jan Hinnerk lives in Hamburg town, In Hamburg town, he is a man of great renown, Of very great renown, (2x) Jan Hinnerk lives up a little, quiet street, A very quiet street He can make whate'er he will. One day he made a violin, a little fiddlekin, That could play all by itself "Violin, violin," said that fiddlekin. (2x) And a vio-uiolin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) One day he made a little Dutchman, a little Dutchman, Who could speak all by himself "Gottsverdori! Gottsverdori!" said that Dutchman. (2x) And a vio-violin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) One day he made a little Englishman, a little Englishman, Who could speak all by himself "Damn your eyes! Damn your eyes!" said that Englishman. (2x) And a vio-violin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) One day he made a little German, a little German, Who could speak all by himself. "Hoch der Kaiser! Hoch der Kaiser!" said that German. (2x) And a vio-uiolin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) One day he made a little Frenchman, a little Frenchman, Who could speak all by himself. "Vive l'amour! Vive l'amour!" said that Frenchman. (2x) And a vio-violin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) "Gottsverdori! Gottsverdori!" said that Dutchman. "Damn your eyes! Damn your eyes!" said that Englishman. "Hoch der Kaiser! Hoch der Kaiser!" said that German. "Vive l'amour! Vive l'amour!' said that Frenchman. "Violin-olin," said that fiddlekin.(2x) And a vio-violin, a vio-violin, And he named his wife Katrin, He named his wife Katrin.(2x) Jan Hinnerk still lives up that little quiet street, That very quiet street. He can make whate'er he will. So keep very, very still, Keep very, very still. (2x) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn23kxCKcIo Now that I think of it, I've heard this version before: |
22 Dec 15 - 10:05 PM (#3760389) Subject: ADD Version: Jan Hinnerk (German) From: Joe Offer Oh, this is a fascinating song. There's a terrific Wikipedia article that tells the fascinating story of this song, written in Hamburg as a protest of the French occupation of the city (1806-1814). The article says Jan Hinnerk is a codename for God (note the initials JH, short for JHWH), and note that Jan is all-powerful and can make anything (kann maken wat he will). I didn't know that God had a wife named Katrin, but anything can happen in Hamburg. Here are the lyrics from Wikipedia (in Hamburger-deutsch): JAN HINNERK 1 Jan Hinnerk wahnt up de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un da maakt he sick een Geigeken, Geigeken pardautz. Vigolin, Vigolin sä dat Geigeken, Vigolin, Vigolin sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 2 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un da makt he sick en Hollandsmann, Hollandsmann pardauz Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann, Vigolin, Vigolin sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 3 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un dor makt he sick en Engelsmann, Engelsmann pardautz! Damn your eyes, Damn your eyes, sä de Engelsmann, Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann. Vigolin, Vigolin, sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 4 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un dor makt he sick en Spanischmann, Spanischmann pardautz! Caramba, Caramba! sä de Spanischmann, Damn your eyes, Damn your eyes, sä de Engelsmann. Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann, Vigolin, Vigolin, sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 5 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un dor makt he sick en Hanseat, Hanseat pardautz! Sla em dot, sla em dot, sä de Hanseat, Caramba, Caramba! sä de Spanischmann. Damn your eyes, Damn your eyes, sä de Engelsmann, Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann. Vigolin, Vigolin, sä dat Geigeken, Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 6 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un dor makt he sick en Wickelkind, Wickelkind pardautz! Schiet di wat, schiet die wat, sä dat Wickelkind, Sla em dot, sla em dot, sä de Hanseat. Caramba, Caramba! sä de Spanischmann, Damn your eyes, Damn your eyes, sä de Engelsmann. Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann, Vigolin, Vigolin, sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. 7 Un dorbi wahnt he noch jümmer op de Lammer-Lammerstraat, kann maken wat he will, swich man jümmer jümmer still. Un dor makt he sick Napoleon, Napoleon pardautz! Ick bün Kaiser, ick bün Kaiser, sä Napoleon, Schiet di wat, schiet die wat, sä dat Wickelkind. Sla em dot, sla em dot, sä de Hanseat, Caramba, Caramba! sä de Spanischmann. Damn your eyes, Damn your eyes, sä de Engelsmann, Gottsverdori, Gottsverdori! sä de Hollandsmann. Vigolin, Vigolin, sä dat Geigeken. Un Vigo-Vigolin, un Vigo-Vigolin, un sin Deern, de heet Katrin. Here's a terrific choral rendition of the song: |
22 Dec 15 - 10:28 PM (#3760392) Subject: ADD Version: Jan Hinnerk From: Joe Offer Here's another page on this song. It's a bit speculative, but the speculations are fascinating: Here are the lyrics offered by this Website:
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22 Dec 15 - 10:38 PM (#3760394) Subject: ADD Version: Jan Hinnerk From: Joe Offer I found yet another transcription/version here (with notation and MIDI): Here are the lyrics from this page: JAN HINNERK Jan Hinnerk wahnt up de Lammer-Lammerstraat, Da maak he sick en Franzenmann, Da maak he sick en Engelsmann, Da maak he sick en Hanseat, |
26 Dec 15 - 12:21 AM (#3760858) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jan Hinnert / Hinnerk From: Jim Dixon Joe: You might find something interesting here: Deutscher Liederhort: Auswahl der vorzüglicheren Deutschen Volkslieder, nach Wort und Weise aus der Vorzeit und Gegenwart, Volume 3 by Ludwig Erk & Franz Magnus Böhme (1894) There is a reference to "Jan Hinnerk" in a footnote to another song. The Fraktur is too much for me; I'll let you decipher it if you're interested. |