Pesnja Mefistofelja v pogrebke Au`erbakha

Zhil byl korol' kogda-to,
Pri njom blokha zhila,
Blokha... blokha!
Milej rodnogo brata ona jemu byla;
Blokha... kha, kha, kha! blokha?
Kha, kha, kha, kha, kha!... Blokha!
Zovjot korol' portnogo: ,,Poslushaj ty, churban!
Dlja druga dorogogo
Sshej barkhatnyj kaftan!``
Blokhe kaftan? Kha, kha! Blokhe?
Kha, kha, kha, kha, kha!
Kaftan? Kha, kha, kha!
Blokhe kaftan?
Vot v zoloto i barkhat
Blokha narjazhena,
I polnaja svoboda jej pri dvore dana. Kha, kha!
Kha, kha! Blokhe!
Korol' jej san ministra
I s nim zvezdu dajot,
Za neju i drugije poshli vse blokhi v khod.
Kha, kha!
I samoj koroleve,
I frejlinam jeja,
Ot blokh ne stalo mochi,
Ne stalo i zhit'ja. Kha, kha!
I tronut'-to bojatsja,
Ne to chtoby ikh bit'.
A my, kto stal kusat'sja,
Totchas davaj dushit'!

Show Cyrillic (Покажите текст в кириллице)
Note on Transliteration

by Aleksandr Nikolayevich Strugovshchikov

a text in German by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) , from Faust ENG ITA FRE

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839-1881) , "Pesnja Mefistofelja v pogrebke Au`erbakha", 1879.

by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) , "Aus Goethe's Faust", op. 75 no. 3 (1809).
by Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) , "Lied des Mephistopheles aus Goethes Faust", published 1964.
by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850-1900) , "Altes Lied", 1869.
by Justus Amadeus Lecerf (1789-1868) , "Lied des Mephistopheles unter den lustigen Gesellen in Auerbachs Keller", published 1835? [voice and piano], from Neun Gesänge zu Goethe's Faust, no. 6.
by Leopold Lenz (1803-1862) , "Lied des Mephistopheles in Auerbachs Keller", published 1833 [voice and piano], from Gesänge und Lieder aus der Tragödie Faust von Goethe, Heft 2, no. 2
by Margarete Voigt-Schweikert (1887-1957) , "Es war einmal ein König", op. 11 (Vier Gedichte von Goethe) no. 4 (1916?), published 1918. [medium voice and piano]
by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) , "Lied des Mephistopheles I", op. 5 no. 4 (1831-2), from Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust, no. 4.
by (Johann) Ignaz Walter (1755-1822) , "Gesang des Leviathan", 1797.

by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) , "Histoire d'une Puce", op. 1 no. 5 (1828-9), published 1829 [tenor, TTBB chorus, and orchestra], from Huit Scènes de Faust, no. 5.

ENG English (unknown or anonymous translator)

Date added to the website: 2003-11-13.

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Mephistopheles' song of the flea

 Once upon a time a king
 Had a pet flea,
 A flea... a flea!
 He loved it more than his own son;
 A flea... ha, ha, ha! a flea?
 Ha, ha, ha! a flea!
 The king called his tailor: "Attention, you idiot!
 This dear friend of mine,
 make him a velvet suit!"
 A suit for a flea? Ha, ha! a flea?
 Ha, ha, ha!
 A suit? Ha, ha!
 A suit for a flea?
 So in golden velvet
 The flea was clothed
 And he could do what he wanted in the palace. Ha, ha!
 Ha, ha! a flea!
 The king made him a minister,
 And gave him a medal,
 And all the flea's family were treated likewise.
 Ha, ha!
 Now the queen,
 And all the ladies
 Could not stomach these fleas,
 Who got in their way. Ha, ha!
 They were scared to touch,
 And certainly to kill them.
 However, if one bites,
 We will have a go at it!

Translation from Russian to English by unknown or anonymous translator

a text in Russian by Aleksandr Nikolayevich Strugovshchikov RUS ITA FRE

a text in German by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) , from Faust ENG ITA FRE

Date added to the website: 2003-11-13.